Open Hands
by the bee movie
Summary: After two years of separation, Toph's life is changed. Tokka.
1. Chapter 1

_Go crying out, the sound goes silent._

* * *

The first thing Toph noticed when Aang greeted her at the door to Zuko's fancy new Ember Island beach house was that his voice was deeper. Like, _way_ deeper. Gruff and low, yet still smothered in the same ridiculous cheerfulness his original chipmunk voice had always adorned. Toph grinned as she enveloped her friend into a hug, noticing that he had also hitched an impressive growth spurt since the last time she'd seen him. She lightly punched him on the chest after they broke their embrace. "Finally hit puberty, huh, Twinkletoes?"

Aang rubbed the slight bruise forming on his skin cautiously, unwilling to admit that the earthbender's playful slugs still affected him. "It's good to see you haven't changed too much, Toph." Aang told his friend, patting her on the head jokingly. Toph swatted his hand, choosing to laugh with the Avatar instead of sending him flying. _He gets one tease,_ she decided, _just cause I haven't seen him in so long. Next time, he's dead._

Stepping past Aang and into the seemingly elaborate home, Toph tapped her foot into the ground, eager to see her other friends from old times. Sure enough, she soon sensed nimble, feminine footsteps practically racing towards her before she was almost knocked over by the overwhelming force of the hug.

Katara's immensely girly scent was comparable to chloroform. Toph could hardly breathe in the thick tangle of the waterbender's hair, and the fact that the much taller girl was basically squeezing the intestines out of Toph's body didn't really help.

"Ka...tara… can't… breathe… too much… friendship…" the small girl groaned, her whole body refilling with air once Katara loosened her deathly grip. Toph barely had time to remember how to breathe when Katara began drowning her in comments and compliments.

"Oh my goodness, Toph, you stopped covering your face with your bangs! Well, except for the two pieces on the sides, but… your eyes are so pretty! Your new clothes are so cute, where did you get them? Your skin is so fair and perfect, how do you keep from getting sunburnt when you go outside all the time? Your figure is so gorgeous! You're still so cute! You're so short!"

Toph blew the ends of her hair out of her face with a smirk, ignoring her praises. "I missed you too, Katara."

Katara probably smiled. It seemed like a Katara thing to do.

Toph felt around for a wall, then leaned her spine up against it, crossing one leg over the other nonchalantly. "So, where's the rest of our little crew? Zuko and his cloudy girlfriend - ''

"Fiancée," Aang corrected. Toph attempted to roll her eyes, trying to recall Sokka giving her a detailed tutorial on how exactly to do it a few years back. "Right, right, same thing. Snoozles and Suki, are they here or - ''

"Um, Toph," Katara coughed, and Toph could feel the waterbender's heartbeat quicken. Immediately, Toph's admittedly happy composure dropped.

 _Had something happened to Sokka that had been kept hidden from her?_ Was he hurt? Been wounded doing something brave like defending kids from bullies or was it from something dumb and meatheaded, like getting frozen into ice by falling asleep outside? Was he okay? Was he _dead_?

"Whatever it is, just tell me," Toph said through her teeth, preparing to dash back out the front door if the news was really terrible. She kept her breathing even, her senses calmed, when Katara finally spoke.

"Sokka and Suki broke up about a month ago."

 _Oh, thank God._ Instantly, Toph relaxed. She laughed. "That's all?"

"Well, yeah, but… aren't you and Sokka, like, best friends? Shouldn't you be a little more concerned about him, you know, losing his soulmate?" Aang questioned, probably doing something funny like scratching his head.

"Twinkletoes, I know Sokka better than _anyone_. I'm confident in that." Toph crossed her arms over her chest. She could practically hear Aang and Katara exchange glances.

"Yeah, but then shouldn't you - '' Katara started.

Toph put a finger to her own lips in order to shush her friend. "As Sokka's best friend, I've _always_ been acutely aware of something off about his relationship with Suki. Once they started getting more and more serious, and Sokka would bring up useless things with me like marriage and children, I was super convinced Suki just wasn't the one for him. They don't click, you know? But, fulfilling my role as his best friend, I didn't butt in, and instead let him figure it out for himself. I know, it was a lot of responsibility to put on little Snoozles, but hey, he did it."

There was a moment of silence before either of Toph's friends responded. "Toph - you're really weird, you know that? But also kinda smart." Aang complimented the girl, causing her to shrug in response. "Anyway, Sokka's supposed to be here any day now. Maybe even later tonight." Here, Toph decided to drop the Sokka subject by not replying to the Avatar's comment on her best friend's arrival time. Instead, she inquired, "Where's Zuko and his wifey?"

"Not wifey _yet_ , Toph," Katara reminded her. Toph nodded distractedly; that hadn't answered the question.

Aang coughed uncomfortably, stumbling in his place. Toph sighed. Such an uncoordinated airbender. "We think they're out, planning last-minute things for the wedding, maybe getting food, or… um, something," the Avatar finished lamely, his heartbeat spiking. He wasn't very good at lying, Toph observed..

"So, since Mai and Zuko are off taking care of some _funny_ _business_ ," she shot a glance in Aang's direction - at least, she hoped - and continued, "Then what are we three going to do?"

"Well, Ty Lee - the acrobat, you remember her, right? She invited us to a party! She's actually a really nice person, she's around for the wedding like us, and she said that there are going to be tons of fun people there. You wanna come?" Aang seemed excited enough, and though third-wheeling wasn't ideal, Toph didn't have anything else to do. "Sure," she said, leaning her head on the wall, fixing her fake-gaze on the ceiling. "What time is this party?"

Katara clucked her tongue. "It's in a few hours, which means _I'm_ going to help you get ready, Toph!" there was an unpleasant amount of sweetness in her voice, which was just familiar Katara fashion. Toph groaned, but easily obliged. She knew better than to protest at this point.

* * *

So, Toph suffered. She suffered through hair washing, brushing, braiding, face-globbing, outfit-picking, and then was finally presented like a chicken plucked of its feathers. This kind of pampering had been a daily evil throughout her childhood, up until she ran off with Team Avatar. The young earthbender could feel a pretty casual outfit slung over her body, with some intricate hairstyle and, of course, makeup pounded onto her face. She better make sure she didn't faceplant into a puddle.

Aang offered to hold her arm on their way to the house, but of course Toph declined. Her vision wasn't _too_ fuzzy on sand, at least not as bad as wood or underwater. She was a strong, independent fourteen-year-old blind girl that could take care of herself just fine, thank you very much. Plus, she didn't want Sugar Queen thinking she was trying to steal her boy candy.

As the three friends arrived at the doorstep, Toph realized her vision had worsened. _Is this a wooden patio?_ she questioned, her heartbeat racing. _If the whole house is wood, I swear to God…_

"We'll meet you back here in a few hours, Toph!"

She heard a door swing open, quickly followed the sound and took a step inside the house. The young earthbender _almost_ let a very colorful curse word slip past her lips but managed to restrain herself. _Aang and Katara are probably too involved with each other to remember I can't see on wood,_ she tried to blow her hair out of her face in grief, but remembered it was doing something funny on the back of her head, courtesy of Katara. _Okay, come on, Toph, blend in. This is where you can prove yourself. If you act normal, nobody will even notice you're blind. Pretend you're a fly and stick to the wall._

After about ten minutes of being a fly, Toph was more bored than any fly in the universe. Hungrier, too. So, she took a bold step forward and - landed flat on her face.

"Oh my, miss, are you alright?" a strong arm immediately began helping the small girl up off the ground. She grunted a thank-you, her face heating up at the prospect of embarrassing herself like this in front of some stranger. "Where are your friends, sweetheart? You didn't come here alone, did you?"

 _Sweetheart?_ Toph almost snorted, but didn't allow herself to mock this person so soon after meeting them. They were just trying to be nice, after all. "They're fine, I just wanted to have some alone time. I'm kind of third-wheeling, you see."

The stranger laughed. "Well, my name is Dai, and it's a pleasure to get to meet such a beautiful young girl such as yourself." Against her will, Toph felt an even stronger blush creeping up onto her face. She coughed. Perhaps not noticing, the stranger continued. "I understand your predicament, and mean no offense, but isn't it a little dangerous for a blind girl to be wandering a party by herself?" Toph cursed under her breath, angry with herself for being unable to sheath her weakness even in the face of something she'd never met before.

"If you want, you could hang out with me. I can get you some punch - you must be thirsty, and we can just chat." Dai's offer was sweet, and his tone was pleasant, but Toph sensed something strange underlying not with her feet but her ears.

Ugh, no matter if this guy was going to be a bore or not, she _really_ didn't have any other option. "Sure, sure, sounds great." the young girl agreed, a plastic smile spreading across her face. Dai left and swiftly returned with a cup he planted in her small hands, seemingly eager to begin conversing with the earthbender. Taking tiny sips of the liquid, then practically dumping it down her throat, she discovered it was a pretty tasty, tangy juice.

If Toph didn't know any better, she would say this guy was flirting with her. He couldn't go three seconds without telling her how pretty she was. It was foreign, getting such heavy and constant attention from a boy, but she had to admit it felt… _sort of_ nice. Of course, she would never want to pursue a relationship or anything serious with him - he sounded a lot older than her, probably even a little older than Sokka and Zuko - and he was so positively boring he never once mentioned anything about himself aside from his name.

Every time he left to go refill their drinks, the young earthbender felt nice. A little fuzzy, but that was from her lack of vision. It was only after Toph lost count of how many glasses of juice she realized she was feeling ill.

She gagged, clasping her hand over her mouth in order to prevent any vomit from escaping.

"Are you alright?" Dai sounded incredibly concerned. "Here, honey, I'll take you up to the bathroom. Maybe you ate something bad earlier, or caught the flu from one of your little friends?" he continued listing possible methods of contamination as he led her upstairs and down a hallway. Toph was a bit disoriented at this point, all her senses were numbed and she could hardly even walk. _How did I get so sick so quickly?_ she wondered as she passed through a door frame, clutching her stomach with one hand and allowing Dai to guide her with the other.

Then, something inexplicably strange happened. Toph was shoved, _hard._ Her head made rough contact with either the ground or a wall, she couldn't really tell anymore. Was she standing up, or lying down? She tried to open her mouth, to form words, but she was so dizzy. So confused. Her head, it was really pounding, was it bleeding? She tried to reach up to clutch it, to make it stop hurting, but something was holding her hands up above her head.

 _What?_ Toph thought foggily. _Am I being kidnapped?_

Something weird, something wet, was running all along her body. She felt cold air all over her and warm, unbearably warm, rough hands - why was she naked? What was going on?

Toph began to cry. The tears felt hot and they were left to dry at the bottom of her chin as real pain began to set in, so surprising her sightless eyes opened wide, practically bulging. She wanted to scream but the person, they were too heavy on top of her and she couldn't really breathe. The tears came streaming down faster after their hiatus, her breathing growing more and more labored as she sobbed. She was so confused - where was she? More importantly, where were her friends? Where was Sokka?

* * *

 **Just to be clear, since this is a Tokka fic, I'm not trying to romanticize rape or molestation in any way by having Sokka 'heal' her or whatever, I just thought that something like this happening to Toph was a good counter for her personality: independent, in control, etc.**

 **Also, I tried to make the scene as least graphic as possible, since I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. The story probably won't get any more explicit than that, so I will be keeping it at a T rating.**

 **This fic will be canon according to ATLA but not LOK, since I never finished Legend of Korra and likely will never. As I've been rewatching Avatar, I've come to a very surprising realization that there is a severe lack of quality, completed Tokka fics on this site. Don't get me wrong, there are countless adorable one-shots and incomplete stories but those really don't compare to a fine, finished fic on a favorite couple. So that's my reasoning for starting this.**

 **The song I will be using is Open Hands by Ingrid Michaelson.**

 **Have a great day.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Nobody wants to be the only one to see the pain._

* * *

When Toph woke up, she was alone. She was sweaty and naked laying on the ground, her hair a messy mat beneath her, but she couldn't see anything. _Oh, yeah, wooden floors,_ the young girl recalled, slowly sitting up on her elbows. She sat for a minute, her memories recollecting as her entire tiny body ached and creaked in dull pain.

The earthbender ignored her memories, blocking them out and instead focusing on feeling around for her discarded clothes. After a few minutes of struggle, she had recalled her original outfit, only to discover it was ripped beyond repair. She dropped it as quickly as she could, crawling away from the perished Katara-inspured uniform and searching for something better, something nice and clean.

Toph had just slung a long cotton t-shirt long enough to reach her knees over her head when she heard a familiar voice from down the hallway.

" _Toph_!"

"Here! I'm here!" she was disgusted with how desperate and squeaky her voice sounded, but her throat was sore and dry. The door opened with a swing, and Toph shakily stood to her feet, facing her friends in all her disastrous sickly glory. _How would she explain this to them?_

Katara clucked her tongue loudly. "It's okay, Toph, some guy told us that you had gotten sick up here, and he took care of you until he had to leave. We're gonna head home now, alright?"

 _Some guy,_ Toph thought dryly. "Yeah, okay, thanks guys."

Aang held onto Toph's arm as they networked through the home, just like he always had to help his friend in uncomfortable situations with Sokka absent. But _this_ , this situation was the most uncomfortable Toph had ever endured in her entire life. Her skin felt like it was burning where it met Aang's; it was all she could do to avoid throwing up all over her friend.

As soon as her feet met sand, she began _sprinting_. Her friends called out to her in surprise but she couldn't talk to them, couldn't face them when there were ugly tears and ugly snot all over her stupid face. If they saw, they would ask her what was wrong, and she couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't tell _anyone_ as long as she lived.

Toph scrambled up the patio to Zuko's beach house, panting so loudly even the merchants of Ba Sing Se could probably hear her obnoxiously heavy breathing. She ran inside, down the hall to where she was pretty sure her room was. She slammed the door, locked it, and sprang onto the bed, wrapping herself in covers as she burrowed into the mattress.

She had never felt like as much of a loser as she did then, crying and trembling into her blankets like some dumb little kid. Not even when Aang beat her in the Earth Rumble competition. Back then, she was at least strong. She could protect herself, and she didn't cry like a little baby.

Now, she was _too different._ Things had changed so quickly; the young earthbender had never felt so disconnected from herself in her entire life. She had let herself been so easily overpowered; this was _all_ her fault. She should have noticed something was wrong. She should have been strong enough to get him off of her, to make him _stop..._

Toph fell asleep that way, sniffling and gasping for breath in between dry, heavy sobs. When she woke up, she had a prominent headache; likely equally from the alcohol in her system and all the crying from the previous night.

"Toph! You're awake!"

The young earthbender froze as a strong, warm pair of arms wrapped around her blanket-clad body. She didn't return the hug; the grip was scorching her arms and she let out a small cry as she tried to shove the person away of her, helplessly pawing at them with her arms.

"Toph?" the person was now confused, and had removed themselves from her. Her hearing was muffled by her mussy hair. "Oh, sorry, forgot you couldn't see in bed. It's me, silly, Sokka."

 _Sokka?_ Toph's heart skipped a beat as her dumb blind eyes filled with tears. Sokka, her best friend - _if only_ he had been there last night. He would have talked to her all night, they wouldn't even have had to attend that stupid party. If only he had been there, then… Toph shook her head, _this isn't his fault. It's all mine, just mine…_

She lowered her head, making sure her messy bed-head hair flew in front of her face and covered her eyes. "Sokka…"

The small girl immediately cursed herself. What an idiot she was! She _never_ called him by his first name, unless they were about to die or something - now he was going to _know_ something was up. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ , how much dumber could she get?

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" the concern in his voice was evident, she could feel it even without vibrations. She hung her feet over the side of the bed, but to her dismay she was too short to reach the ground.

"Sorry, it's kinda dumb… I just, I... had a nightmare," Toph forced herself to sound as sheepish as possible to convince him she was telling the truth.

There was a silence before Sokka spoke. "Do you want to - ''

"Talk about it? No." She intercepted his question as quickly as possible, chewing it up and spitting it back out with a sigh. "I just want to forget. Let's talk about something else, okay? When did you get here?" Toph noticed that her voice was speeding up, and she was a little worried she sounded like a chipmunk, _but_ she couldn't help it. Her body was aching and her stomach was filled to the brim with anxiety; it was all she could do not to scream. The master earthbender could tell Sokka was glad to not have to deal with comforting her; no matter how much he cared for her, _no_ boy wanted to be around an emotional teenage girl.

It sounded like he opened his mouth, and then promptly closed it again.

"Wait, Toph, what's wrong?!" Sokka practically screeched. The young earthbender was startled by his sudden outburst, furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion. "Toph, answer me, are you okay?!"

"Geez, yes, I'm fine, what are you yelling about?" Toph grunted, covering her ears in a dramatic fashion. Her best friend's breathing was ragged and frightened; she began to wonder if there was a moose lion pooping on her head.

"You - you're bleeding! A lot!" Sokka shouted frantically, making panicked hand motions so exaggerated Toph could _hear_ them.

She was baffled at first. Her entire physique was throbbing in muted agony, but it wasn't anything like a paper cut or knife mishandling; how could she be bleeding? Toph sat pondering for a minute before she focused in on one feeling, just _one_ within the absolute hurricane going on inside her. With a quiet gasp, she realized her nightgown - the long shirt from the previous night - was damp near her rear end.

"Should I… should I get Katara?" Toph could tell from Sokka's now-softened voice that he was convinced she was on her menstrual cycle. _As if._ She _wished,_ no matter how embarrassing it would have been to get _it_ while Sokka was with her, she knew that wasn't it. The small girl hadn't actually ever had one before - which she kind of despised because it made her feel even more like a child, but at least it meant the previous night's _events_ wouldn't get her pregnant.

However, this bleeding predicament was clearly an aftereffect from her previous night. She was _so_ flustered, so caught off guard. "No, no, _please_ , don't get Katara. I'll be fine. Don't worry, just don't tell anyone about this, please, Sokka, please…" Toph _hated_ how she sounded, like a babbling toddler, but it was absolutely critical that Katara didn't examine her injury. _Nobody_ could know.

"Toph, you don't have to be, like, embarrassed or anything," Sokka spoke in a hushed voice, likely blush-colored himself, "You know, Katara's really good at this stuff. You even told me she's like a mom to you, so - ''

"Snoozles!" Toph addressed him with his nickname to regain his attention, "Katara can _not_ hear about this, okay? I'll deal with it on my own."

Sokka seemed to hesitate. "I don't think this is the kind of thing you can take care of yourself, Toph, I mean - ''

"It _isn't_ what you _think_ it is," Toph hissed, praying her best friend couldn't see her flushed face. "Please, Sokka."

 _Shit,_ Toph thought. Why did she have to blurt that out; just to keep the situation from reaching an unbearable peak of awkwardness? It would be even _worse_ if he found out what really happened, didn't she know that?

There was a gawky silence before the warrior spoke. "Okay, okay, I'm gonna trust you. Talk to me later, yeah? We can catch up, maybe go out somewhere," Sokka paused, "I missed you."

Toph exhaled a breath she'd been holding in since the beginning of the conversation. "I missed you, too."

* * *

Girls _weren't_ human.

Sokka was well aware of this by now. At seventeen years old, he'd been romantically involved enough to know that girls made zero sense almost one hundred percent of the time.

He hated to say this, and in no way meant insult to his friend, but Sokka often forgot Toph was a girl. She made fart puns and had no problem joking around with him about peculiar, gross things and never really seemed to put any effort at all into her appearance. She was easily the most powerful girl he knew - sorry, Katara, Ty Lee, Suki - and had never once mentioned having any romantic feelings towards, well, anybody.

Sokka often avoided looking - _really_ looking at the girl he called his best friend, because her rather attractive appearance was an unwelcome, curious reminder of her femininity. Especially now, when he hadn't seen her in so long; he was randomly reminded that she was actually a really cute girl. She was slender and small, with surprisingly dainty, ladylike features. Everything about her appearance was soft and adorable; her pale pink lips, her perfect porcelain skin, her vague green eyes framed with raven eyelashes. It made him uncomfortable just _thinking_ about it.

And then today, when the brute force of all things womanly practically ate him alive, the tribesman had almost wet himself in terror. Except, _maybe_ he was a little prepared for something strange to happen considering how bizarre his friend had been acting all morning.

What did she mean, it wasn't what he thought it was? What else could it _be_? Sokka was plenty aware of the young earthbender's stubborn streak - he had been a victim of its wrath many times before - but her insistence on keeping this whole situation a secret from _Katara_ was almost ridiculous. Toph was blind, how would she even -

 _Okay, too far. Way too far._ Sokka shuddered.

It had been an intolerable amount of time since the best friends had hung out, just one on one. There was a _lot_ Sokka wanted to tell her; about Suki, about restaurants he'd gone to, ask if she was excited for Zuko and Mai's wedding, among other things. He wanted to plan something special, just for them, to celebrate their reunion.

If it was noon now, Sokka had five, _maybe_ six hours to put together something truly extravagant for Toph.

He grinned. He was so incredibly happy to have his best friend back - even if she was acting a little stranger than usual. It kind of irked him to see her so defensive and shelled up, but he would get the truth on what was bugging her on their little rendezvous - _no matter what,_ he promised.

* * *

 **In case it isn't _super_ clear, this story takes place about two years after the end of the war. **

**Thanks for your feedback so far, and hooray for a super early update!**

 **Have a good day.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Everybody wants the one to make them live forever._

* * *

Toph wondered if anyone had noticed yet that she was different. She felt like an entirely new person, every second of _it_ flashed through her mind anytime her thoughts wandered; her skin felt permanently hot and prickly and she wanted nothing more than to peel it all off. She would be so much happier as a reptile, shedding her dirty soiled skin and leaving it to rot forever. A new layer would soon grow, clean and pure like she should be, like she was before. The earthbender wondered if as soon as she faced them, everyone in the home would see the handprints all over her body, or smell the stench of spoiled goods. This is why she hid in her room the entire day, not even leaving for meals _,_ until someone knocked on her door about fifty times in the afternoon. Once she had become supremely irritated, she stomped over towards the door.

 _Yes, I know it's rude of me to avoid talking to anyone for the rest of my life, but I really just can't let anyone see me ever again. Tell Zuko and Mai I said good luck on the marriage, sorry I couldn't make it. I'll just be here, in this room, living in his beach house, until I die._

The young girl opened her mouth to recite her lines when an object was shoved in her face, right under her nose. Something unfathomably pleasant-smelling, that tickled her nose…

"Flowers!" Sokka exclaimed. Toph could hear the excitement in his tone, but she was more puzzled on _why_ exactly he was standing at her door with a bouquet.

"Come on, Toph, we're going out!"

"Out?" the earthbender squeaked, her heartbeat spiking. "Out where? Not to a party, right?" She almost groaned. _God, how pathetic could she get?_

Sokka chuckled. "No, not a party. Just - come on, I set it all up already on the beach. The only thing missing is us!" he grabbed her arm and yanked her outside her room, keeping her on the balls off her feet as he tugged her along with him.

"Ow, ow!" Toph complained loudly; her skin was already on fire _and_ there were definitely black-and-blue marks on her wrists. Her friend had certainly gotten stronger since she'd last seen him.

Once Sokka had gotten her out of the house, he let go of his grip on her. She immediately cradled the hurt arm in her other, gently touching her bruised muscle and cringing at the surge of pain that struck her. The pair slowed down their pace, Toph too absorbed in her wounded limb to brainstorm conversation topics.

"It's been a long time since we talked," the warrior said abruptly, attempting to break the silence.

"Yeah," Toph sighed, "I know."

Sokka's voice softened, became more subdued. "There's so much I gotta tell you, and - oh, hey, we're here!" the warrior sounded very excited for a minute, like a little kid. "Okay, I know you can't see it, but trust me, it's really beautiful! The sun is setting right now... maybe I should have brought a few candles or a flashlight? Anyway, there's just a little blanket for us to sit on, and I brought food for dinner. If you want, we could go swimming after."

Toph snorted. "I can't _swim_ , Snoozles."

"I can always teach you."

Two years ago, Toph would have jumped at the idea of her mighty, beloved best friend holding her and steadying her at some romantic ocean site, but today? She was different. "No thanks."

Sokka scoffed in a haughty, joking manner. "Suit yourself, you can't even see what you're missing out on," he paused, "Get it? _See_ what you're missing out on?"

"It's good to know at least your sense of humor hasn't changed; it still sucks." Toph plopped herself down on the blanket, closing her eyes as she felt the smooth sand caress her sore body. The waves crashed in the distance, and she heard Sokka rustling through a bag for a few minutes, then felt the quiet vibration of something being dropped in front of her. "Here, dinner."

The earthbender eased herself up, sitting criss-cross and beginning to play around with the food on her plate. It felt like a steak, maybe, and some mashed potatoes. It smelled pleasant, but she didn't have much of an appetite.

Her companion was staring at her, she knew he was. She could _feel_ it. To steer him away from any unnecessary, weird questions, she inquired. "So? Hit me. What's been going on in the great, legendary life of Sokka?"

* * *

He didn't miss a beat. "Well, young Toph, you see, love is a funny thing. You're gonna meet someone and think you two are meant to be forever and ever, and plan every single detail of your lives out together, but then when the time comes to take the big leap of faith… it just doesn't work out."

"Suki, right?" Sokka was surprised at how quickly she had caught on, but resigned with a sigh. "Yeah, Suki," he swallowed a chunk of meat before continuing. "She and I, we would _always_ talk about getting married after the war was over. She wanted two kids, I wanted ten - I figured we would end up with like six. She told me she wanted to get married in private, go off and travel together for years so we would have tons of stories to tell when we got back. I thought she was _so_ perfect… strong, beautiful, funny, I was crazy about her."

He had been staring at his meal, chewing in between sentences. When he looked up, Toph's hands were at her sides. She hadn't been eating. "I visited Kyoshi to surprise her, you know - I was gonna propose. I was so excited, but when I got there she was really busy. Once I finally got her alone after a few days, and got down on one knee, she didn't say anything for such a long time… it felt like centuries until she said, 'I don't think we should be together anymore.'" Sokka snuck a glance up again. Toph's face was blank.

"I thought about it for a really, really long time - okay, like a day. And I started wondering if, you know, maybe she _wasn't_ perfect. There were tons of things I didn't like about her, like how she would always forget to write back to me, how she made fun of me in front of her friends... I could make a whole list if I really wanted to, but I'm not _that_ mean. Anyway, I kept thinking, and I was like, 'Maybe I didn't really want to marry Suki, maybe I just wanted to get married,' you know? I think I was rushing things; I feel like I'm just eager to follow tradition. Get a girlfriend, make her your wife, start a family. But, really, I think it's good she didn't say yes, because then I never would have realized any of this, right?" he looked over to his best friend, who was minutely nodding her head.

"Right," she replied.

Her plate was untouched. Why wasn't she eating? Katara mentioned something about her being ill, but he hadn't taken her seriously at all - was the young earthbender actually inflicted with something? Should he ask her about it? He was about to open his mouth when she spoke.

"Sokka, can I ask you something?"

The warrior nodded, before remembering she couldn't tell. "Yeah. Yeah, of course."

"Do I know more about you than Suki does?"

He didn't hesitate. "Yeah, you do."

Toph sat unnervingly still, her eyes boring into the ground. "I think it's so weird that we know so much about each other, you know - it isn't bad, it's just unfamiliar to me," she furrowed her eyebrows. "Like, back at home, I had no friends, nobody to talk to. My parents didn't know anything about me… they never asked what I liked to eat, or drink, or even simple things like my favorite songs, stories…"

"Not even your favorite color?" Sokka asked sadly.

"...Sokka."

"Yeah?"

The earthbender suddenly looked like she wanted to smack him. " _Blind._ "

" _Oh._ Oh, yeah. Sorry," he coughed awkwardly. _Just like old times._

The tribesman moved closer to the girl, a smile spreading across his face. It felt so nice to be talking like this again; _nothing is better than spilling your heart out to your best friend!_ he decided. He rest his hand on top of hers in a comforting manner and right afterwards felt her flinch beneath him.

Toph rapidly removed her hand, cradling it close to her chest and maintaining her solid, sightless gaze on the ground. It was like she was determined to avoid facing him… or something.

"Toph? Are you - ''

"Fine!" she exclaimed, leaving her hands to rest in her lap, "I'm fine, fine, fine."

Sokka narrowed his eyes. He may be an idiot, but he was educated enough in his best friend to know that something was _not_ fine. The warrior eyed the small girl up and down thoroughly, before his eyes zeroed in on a few dark marks dotting her arms.

"Hey, what are those bruises from? Did you get in a fight?" he was genuinely curious, and not at all angry, but Toph just seemed to hunch her back and curl in on herself even more drastically.

"Bruises? Weird, I didn't even notice they were there." her voice was too wispy and nonchalant to be telling the truth, he realized.

Sokka leaned closer to put a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "It's okay if you did, you know you can trust me. You probably kicked their ass, and you know I like hearing about - hey, are you okay?"

Toph's head was hung low, staring at the fiddling fingers in her lap. Her shoulders were trembling like it was freezing outside, except it really wasn't chilly at all. Sokka was _so_ confused, his mouth hung slightly ajar. He awkwardly removed his arm from around his best friend, feeling desperately uncomfortable with her rattling underneath him like that.

"Toph, what's wrong? Please tell me, you're really freaking me out," the tribesman's voice had collapsed into a whisper. She didn't say anything, didn't even make any indication she had heard him. "Katara told me you were sick last night, are you still not feeling well?"

His small companion's head perked up. She grunted, clearing her throat. "Yeah, yeah, that's it. That's all. Look out, I might throw up all over you if you don't move over." It was a lame excuse, and they both knew it, but Sokka bought it anyways and scooched over a bit. For her.

He could no longer feel her body heat morphing into his or smell the vanilla fragrance from her hair. He watched her lean over and try to vomit onto the sand, yet she only ended up dry-heaving. He knew she wasn't sick, it was something else. The tribesman glanced once more at her plate.

She still hadn't eaten any of her dinner.

* * *

 **The real goal of this chapter was to explain Sokka's new disinterest in Suki, with some plot thrown in. Kind of. I hope it worked.**

 **I apologize for the lack of the full cast's appearance; don't worry, we'll see more of them soon!**

 **For the record, I really don't have anything against Suki, but I just think she's a rather dull character and definitely not a great match for Sokka.**

 **Thanks so much for the support and feedback so far! Have a great day.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Now go on, and drift away._

* * *

Blindness didn't exactly render Toph a shopaholic.

Honestly, she didn't care what she wore at all, as long as it didn't cover the soles of her feet. She really didn't care for the extravagant gowns she had been forced to wear at home, but it was only because they were difficult to earthbend in without slipping on a piece of unnaturally long cloth or something.

Even under these circumstances, the Toph was forced _against her will_ to join Ty Lee and Katara on a shopping trip for the wedding - which was in approximately three weeks. Or was it two? She couldn't quite remember.

The _incident_ had been nearly a week ago, but unfortunately bad memories don't fade so easily. Every night she stood in her shower and scrubbed her body so raw that her shoulder blades began to bleed.

As Toph listened to her two companions giggle and whisper while roaming the store and robbing the clothing racks, the young earthbender's thoughts darkened.

 _Why me?_ she had to wonder. She began to feel frightened for her friends; if something so terrible could happen to her, the greatest earthbender in history, then surely her two strong-but-not-quite _-_ as-strong associates were in danger as well... _plus_ , from what she could gather, both Ty Lee and Katara were very attractive. Obviously, she wasn't quite sure what she looked like, but the lack of compliments definitely insinuated a deficiency in Toph's looks department. The only people that had ever regarded her as good-looking were Katara and…

Toph ignored herself and skillfully shut her feelings down, something she had mastered quite recently.

"Hey, Toph, come try this on real quick!" with a sigh, the young girl moped over to where her friends were and was immediately bombarded with various clothing items, almost suffocating her.

Katara began sifting through the multiple lumps of cloth, going into explicit detail on what each of them looked like for her sake. It was a really kind gesture, but ultimately useless.

Unwilling to waste her time trying to find out which opening was for her head and which one was for her arms, Toph simply stood in the dressing room for a few minutes and then returned with the dress that felt the softest.

"Ooh! I _really_ like this one," Ty Lee purred, accidentally running her manicured nails over the earthbender's own grubby fingers while stroking the fabric. "Good choice."

"This one is long-sleeved, Toph, and it's a really pretty ivory-whitish color. It's tight over the chest but then kind of expands for the skirt… you're going to look so cute! Please let me do your hair," Katara squealed.

"Can I do your makeup?" Ty Lee asked in her sugary voice.

Toph didn't even think before she replied, "Sure." _Yeah, because things worked out so well the last time you played dress up, dummy._

She was then forced to sit down on the ground of a dressing room for nearly an hour as Ty Lee and Katara praised and critiqued various outfits on each other. She could not believe how easily the two girls stripped and re-dressed in front of each, like they were doing something as simple as taking a hair-tie out. Toph would have been mortified to be in the same room as a naked girl, and she couldn't even _see._

Katara had seen her in an undershirt and pants, like, maybe once. _Is there some girl-code etiquette I missed out on during my childhood solitary confinement?_ Toph wondered as she listened the never-ending cycle of _un_ buttoning, then buttoning. Zipping, then _un_ zipping. It was maddening.

Once the girls were finally done and had paid for their new fancy formal wear, Toph was relieved to be on their way home. The trio had just exited the shop when Ty Lee shrieked, "Oh _no_!"

"What? What is it?" Katara's heart spiked up in panic.

" _We forgot about jewelry_!"

"Please kill me," Toph muttered.

She was dragged over to some booth where she was forced to sit in a chair so high her feet couldn't touch the floor. Cheap pieces of metal were brought up to her throat so Katara could find out which one 'completed her look'. Maybe it was because she was blind, but Toph didn't really know what 'completing a look' meant.

After her look had been completed, the Toph was left alone as two girls went on a detailed search around the booth for their look-completers, leaving her to slump in her seat.

 _I could be normal,_ she thought, _I can forget._

Since her feet weren't touching the ground, she couldn't feel his steps. Not that she would know what they felt like, but maybe it wouldn't have been such a surprise that something was approaching that way.

"Ty Lee! How are you?"

Every muscle, every bone, every ligament in her whole body went stiff. Her blood ran backwards and the tiny hairs layering her skin stuck straight up.

Toph couldn't hear much, everything was just white noise for a few moments. She wished she was deaf instead of blind when the sound began crawling back inside her ears, sending a chill up her spine.

"Aw, who's this cute little thing?" _Don't pretend, don't lie. You know me, I know you. You know, you remember._

"Oh, that's Toph. She's fourteen - she _is_ cute, huh?" Ty Lee was so oblivious, she sounded way too cheerful. Maybe Katara could... maybe she would notice something was weird, that something was so wrong -

"She is, but a little young for me," Dai was trying to keep it as light as possible to avoid suspicion, and both Ty Lee and Katara bought right into it with two girly laughs.

Katara rested a hand on the young earthbender's shoulder. "Toph, this is Dai. He was the one that threw the party we went to last week, you remember that?" she paused, "Toph?"

This was _way_ too much. Her throat was burning and her eyes seared with tears she was unwilling to let loose. Her lips had dried from her heavy breathing - she couldn't open her mouth without exposing herself. Even worse, he - it was there, in the flesh, and it would just _deny_ everything… It was too much, too much for her.

It was just better to say nothing at all.

* * *

"We need to talk about Toph."

Those were the first words Sokka heard when he opened the door to Zuko's beach house. He glanced down the hall and eyed a grand Team Avatar reunion gathered around the dining table with one - two, counting him - key components missing.

"Hey, no worries, I'm here," the tribesman rushed over to his friends, quickly grabbing a seat next to Zuko and then focusing his attention on his sister with a goofy grin, "So are we talking about real Toph, or Ember-Island-play-Toph?"

Katara narrowed her eyes and stood up abruptly. "I'm _serious,_ Sokka! Something is really wrong with her and I'm _worried_!"

Sokka made eye contact with Aang, who nodded and cautiously rested a hand on her arm. "We're _all_ worried, Katara, and I'm sure Sokka is too." those gentle words from the Avatar were all it took for the waterbender to sit back down with an anxious sigh. Aang cleared his throat, then spoke in an authoritative tone. "We've all noticed Toph's strange behavior lately, right? Zuko, I know you haven't been around her much, but basically- ''

"No, that's the thing," Zuko interrupted thoughtfully, "We're friends, obviously. Everytime she visits us she _loves_ to make me go out, buy her expensive dinner, tease Mai and me, you know, the usual stuff. But she hasn't said a _word_ to me. Frankly, it's just weird _._ "

"She won't eat. Not even her favorite foods - ''

"She won't talk ever since we went shopping a few days ago - ''

"She hardly even drinks water - ''

"She never leaves her room - ''

"Okay!" Sokka exclaimed, banging a fist on the table. His three friends stopped speaking over each other and stared at him, startled.

"Something is obviously wrong, we've already confirmed that. Instead of stressing _how_ we know, why don't we find out _why_ she's acting so strange. Toph is never open about her feelings, and she's never _this_ obvious when something is bothering her. She doesn't like to be viewed as weak; she sees emotions as weaknesses. Clearly, something is eating her up so badly inside that she can tell she's displaying it outside - and she doesn't want us to see that, doesn't want us to _know_ , so she's locking herself up and zipping her mouth shut," Sokka gulped, then continued, "Evidently, she doesn't want to tell us yet. And that's okay, that's just how Toph is. But what's important for right now is making sure she's healthy. She needs to start eating and drinking again, right? We got to start small then work our way up." The tribesman scanned his companions' faces, searching for any sign of approval or disapproval.

"Sokka," Zuko coughed uneasily, "I think we should leave this to you." he motioned to Aang and Katara, who slowly nodded in agreement with the firebender.

"Um... _me_? All - all by myself?" Sokka squeaked, the responsibility rippling in front of his eyes and making him a _bit_ dizzy.

"You guys are the closest," Aang supplied, running a hand down his fuzzy head sheepishly, "No matter how much time we spend with Toph, none of us can understand her the way you do."

"Okay, that's true, but I can't help but feel like you guys are just trying to… you know, toss the blame," Sokka admitted, raising an eyebrow..

Aang smiled. "Well, yeah, that too."

* * *

"Toph? I brought you dinner."

When he received no answer for a few short minutes, Sokka pushed the door open. He had to survey the room for a moment before his eyes could catch the tiny figure curled up on the ground, a light blue blanket wrapped around her slim body.

The tribesman sat down a few feet away from her since she was so touchy lately. He set the tray containing her food in between them, then crossed his hands in his lap as he stared at her. Her face was turned away from him, but he knew she wasn't sleeping.

"You have to eat," Sokka said, trying to sound stern, " _Please_. I can't watch you starve yourself." The desperation had sunk into his voice, causing it to crack slightly.

That was all it took, apparently. Toph wordlessly perched herself up on her elbows and seated herself in a criss-cross position. She kept her head at such a low angle that Sokka couldn't see her facial expression, and reached out to grab a kabob off the plate. Soon enough, she had slowly begun to munch on it. _How can she eat this slow when it's been so long since she last had a meal?_

Her fingers trembled as she held the thin stick in her small hands. When she had finished the single kabob, she drank the whole glass of water and then, definitively pushed the plate away from herself.

Her hair was sticking up in strange places and - no offense to her - not looking too terrific. Sokka stood up to sit behind her, prayed his fingers weren't _terribly_ dirty, and then began combing through his best friend's tangled mane.

"I'm full of surprises, you know," the warrior said cockily, setting specific strands to the side as he was taught long ago, "Bet you never guessed I knew how to braid hair. I don't know how to do anything too crazy, so don't expect much, but I can do the original thing like a pro. I could teach a class on it; braidbending." Sokka grinned. "Admit it, I'm funny." _No reply._

Halfway down her mop of raven hair, Sokka thought he was doing a pretty good job. With his hands, at least - his mouth was a different story entirely. "You know, Toph, I have a really good idea. And, as you know, I'm the idea guy… Anyways, after Zuko's wedding, I think I'm going to take a vacation. I miss traveling, don't you…? I think you and I should go on a trip together, like, to nowhere specifically _._ We can just have fun, go anywhere we want, just be with each other - because I'm sick of being apart, you know? You're my best friend, I ought to spend as much time with you as I can, right?" the tribesman leaned back, admiring his handiwork. "I finished, by the way. It looks good, I think."

Still, no words, no noises, no sounds. He could hardly hear her breathing.

He let out a long breath as he stood up. When he spoke, he began moving towards the door at the same pace. "It's getting late. I'm gonna go to bed, okay? I'll bring you your breakfast in the morning, and then maybe we can talk - ''

"Wait."

That was all he needed. He stopped, his fingertips barely grazing the doorknob.

"I… haven't been sleeping," her voice was so quiet, so weak, "'Cause I get nightmares."

Sokka turned around to face her, but the young girl's head was still hung. She _refused_ to let him see her face, but... he could manage. He would. "I'll stay, then."

Toph stood on wobbly legs, hunching over as she slowly moved towards the bed. She lay right in the middle of the mattress, so Sokka figured that she didn't mean to share with him. That was okay. That was fine. He wasn't tired anyway.

He turned the lights out for her, then sat on the edge of her bed to face the window. The warrior was under some sort of spell gazing out at the moon when he suddenly felt a soft poke at his spine.

He glanced behind; her hand was offered to him and he took it with a smile on his face. Toph lay on her side facing him, her hair braided back thus revealing her face to him at last. He examined her in the full moonlight; there were bags under her opaque eyes, and a hint of dryness bordering her lips, but still she was beautiful to him.

 _Beautiful?_ His heart skipped a beat and he wondered if he had ever used that word to describe her before. He doubted its synonymity for a split second, yet the longer Sokka looked at her, the _better_ it seemed to describe her.

"I get sick now when I eat," she whispered.

" _Shhh,_ go to sleep," he said, running his fingers over hers in an attempt to soothe her, "I'll be right here."

Toph's sightless eyes blinked, then tenderly shut to rest for the night.

 _Poor thing,_ Sokka mused in his head, _she must be exhausted._ He wanted to know what was wrong so badly - it was _all_ he could think about as he watched her slowly breathe in and out, lost in the sweet relief of sleep. The only thing he could do was continue to stroke her small hands and hope it comforted her.

"Good night, Toph," he murmured, trying to make himself comfortable perched on the edge of the mattress. "I love you."

* * *

 **Honestly? This is probably the weakest chapter so far. _Tragic_. But don't worry, I'll try my hardest to make it up to you!**

 **Thanks for you support and feedback so far, as always!**

 **Have a great day.**


	5. Chapter 5

_Nobody wants to be the only one that's left standing._

* * *

Every night, Sokka brought her dinner. She would eat almost a quarter of it at the speed of a snail, and _sometimes_ it stayed down.

She hadn't been lying when she told him she got nightmares, he soon realized. When she slept soundly through the night it was absolutely amazing; the young girl even allowed him to share the bed with her (but bring his own blanket).

However, when she had a nightmare, he would often wake up before she did. Her tiny body racked with sobs and her mouth relentlessly spewed gibberish. She'd sprint to the trashcan and vomit whatever meager amount of dinner she'd eaten, then bury herself deep into her bedsheets. The tribesman would have to sit her straight up and cradle her chin, comb through her hair and whisper to her that it was _okay_ , she was _fine._

"I'm here, I'm here," he would say, and she always believed him.

They held hands as they slept. She would often wake him up by squeezing his, and after a minute of recollection he would leave to fetch her the breakfast she would have none of.

She stayed in her room all day, and wouldn't talk to anyone except for Sokka. Even to him, her words were sparse and her mouth dry.

* * *

"If she keeps losing weight, she won't fit into her dress for the wedding," Katara said slyly one day.

The warrior stopped moving, then spun around. "Is that all you care about?" he snarled, his face colored with fury. "Just the stupid wedding?"

He regretted his rash words immediately afterwards, but his sister knew him well enough to catch the apology without it being spoken. Katara sighed, unwilling to let the words loose from her lips. "You know what I meant."

Sokka slouched, massaging his face anxiously. "How do I make her eat more when she can hardly handle what I _am_ feeding her?"

Katara sighed. "Be direct with her. She's an earthbender, she relies on solid ground, you know. You can't just wait for her to… you know, and _then_ tell her."

"It's just - so hard when she's like this," the tribesman said, holding his head in his hands. His sister placed a warm hand on his shoulder, massaging his shoulder blade as he breathed in and out, slowly and quietly.

* * *

"Katara and I, we're darker than Aang - and especially you. We get a lot of sun back home, and we're naturally tan as well. Both of us have blue eyes - Katara's are really, really crazy wide. Yours are more narrow, but they're not bad at all, I really like them. My sister and I both have dark brown hair, except Katara has loopies and me, the haircut of a warrior," he chuckled, "That was kind of a joke."

Toph, of course, didn't say anything, so Sokka continued, "I know this probably doesn't mean much to you, but you're terrific to look at. You always make the funniest expressions - how do you do that when you can't practice in the mirror or anything? I swear, some people get all the talent… Heh, anyways, when you roll your eyes or do a goofy smile on purpose, it seriously kills me. Cracks me up. You're a riot, Toph, honestly."

Dousing her in compliments had to awaken _something_ inside the earthbender, right?

Alas, no such luck. Sokka was floored, trying desperately to come up with something else to talk about, until he heard the small girl mutter something under her breath.

"What?" he asked, cupping his right ear.

"C-c - ''

"Captain Boomerang?"

"C- ''

"Cactus juice?"

" _C-c-c- ''_

"Combustion man?"

"Cold!" she finally hollered out, her teeth chattering violently as she huffed and quickly burrowed herself back inside her blanket.

It was warm in her toasty little room, yet she was still trembling underneath layers of cotton cloth. _Cold,_ he rolled the word around in his mouth. _Hm._ Sokka had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Toph, get your head out of there for a second." Upon following his orders, he placed his palm up against her forehead only to find the precious skin scorching and dripping with sweat. The tribesman frowned.

He dropped his hand from her flesh. It was slick and moist.

 _Shit, this really isn't good. Not at all._ His heart had begun to race and he didn't know what to do or what to say without sounding like a babbling idiot, but he couldn't think right now, couldn't breathe _or_ …

Ever since the first time he almost lost her, back on the ship… it was like Toph Bei Fong's safety was as vital to him as oxygen. She could literally choke on water and he would send her to rest for the remainder of the day. He _needed_ her to be okay, everyday, all the time.

"You - you're getting really sick," he exhaled, his gaze centered on a bead of sweat dripping down his best friend's forehead. "You're suffering from malnourishment, which is basically when your body isn't receiving enough food to function correctly. You have a fever and - this isn't _good_ , Toph, it's really, really bad."

He reached out to stroke her face. How could he put this into words? There was too much to be said; he needed to tell Katara, he needed to find out what was _wrong…_

"I need you," Sokka told the young girl, slowly tracing circles into her cheek with his thumb, "I need you _so_ much more than you need me… and you're hurting, so that hurts me, too. Just - please, you gotta eat more, Toph. It's okay if you throw up, I'll be here… _please,_ I - ''

"Okay, Snoozles," the earthbender rested her own hand on top of his, effectively silencing the sentimental tribesman.

He blinked. "Okay…?"

"Bring me some food and I'll eat it," Toph said, her unwavering eyes pointed right at him. "I can't promise it'll stay down, though."

That was okay. That was enough for him.

He smiled.

* * *

She began to follow him around, attaching herself to his arm and making him tag her along for whatever plans he hatched for that day. They would never leave the house, obviously - she couldn't handle that yet, but he had never discussed that with her. There was an unspoken understanding between them that allowed him to be aware of her discomfort with going outside.

Toph still wouldn't talk with anyone other than him. She didn't even know _why_ ; it was like whenever she was around anyone but him every single bone in her body just tensed up. She would still move and shake her head, albeit stiffly, but words just wouldn't leave her mouth.

Sokka hardly ever asked her what was wrong, but it was dreadfully obvious that he wanted to know. She couldn't blame him. She, Toph Bei Fong - the strongest, most powerful earthbender _ever -_ had become absolutely everything she had worked so hard to escape from being nicknamed. The young girl could cry for hours in frustration at all the horrible things she now embodied - weakness, emotional instability, frailty, and most of all, _selfishness._

Yes, she had legitimately become the self-proclaimed most selfish person in the entire universe, no doubt about it. Toph stuck to her best friend like glue, unintentionally using their close friendship to control him. He couldn't leave when she was in such a sorry state - she _knew_ this. He would babysit her for the rest of his life if he had to, effectively wasting his and only to make hers a little bit more bearable.

Worst of all, so many uncomfortable feelings were beginning to resurface - how Toph had felt back when she traveled with Team Avatar everyday was something she never shared with anyone, as well as something she was almost _certain_ was gone forever.

 _Stupid butterflies,_ she thought, wanting to sock herself in the stomach. _Stupid Sokka. Stupid me._

Toph had lost weight during her depression. She could tell because she had _ears,_ and it was all Ty Lee ever gossiped about with everyone in the house. The young girl had also figured out that there was some party going on tonight. She had no idea if it was at _his_ house, and really didn't even want to know, but it was clear from how everyone talked that they were all attending. Only minus two: her and Sokka.

 _I'm ruining his life,_ Toph thought to herself bitterly, _I'm seriously the worst. I can't stand myself._

While they were hanging out, everyone else at the alleged party, she could tell he was trying his best to pretend he wasn't bummed out. As if he wanted nothing more than to spend all his time with his crazy, mute best friend. But she _wasn't_ an idiot.

Later, when the pair were lying on her bed with laced fingertips, they were trying _so_ hard to recreate their easy-going, hilarious back-and-forths from the past. Only now things were different, and every joke seemed nothing but forced. Toph knew that level of their friendship was blocked by her secret; no longer did they know absolutely everything about each other, so instinctually they had lost the height of their relationship.

It was heartbreaking, she wanted to _cry._

Toph really couldn't take it anymore. Being this helpless, this useless, and above all such a _burden_ on the person she treasured most in the entire world - it was killing her.

Once Snoozles had fallen asleep, the small earthbender unattached her hand from his. She walked on the balls of her feet until she reached the front patio, and from there the young girl ran across the sandy beach. Panic set in as she sprinted; what if one of her friends saw her? But an overwhelming sense of calmness swept over her once she felt the lukewarm water licking at her toes.

Here, she was blind. She was entirely powerless in the ocean, but the weight of her decision gave her an endless supply of _control_ in the situation.

Toph really hoped she wasn't going the wrong way; the water seemed to be getting deeper and she could soon feel the tender waves crash at her knees, so she figured she was facing the sea.

After everything that happened, she was _finally_ in charge of the situation. From this point on, nobody else would ravage Toph without her consent. Sokka wouldn't have to care for her - and while she knew that he loved her, it couldn't possibly be in the same way she was inexplicably feeling about _him._

The water stilled around her waist, and the earthbender began to feel uneasy. Almost nauseous.

Maybe this was the malnutrition thing Sokka had mentioned. She couldn't change her mind now; if there was one trait she had stayed true to it was her stubbornness.

 _You can't be weak now,_ Toph warned herself, biting down on her lip. _This is your last chance to be strong! You can do it!_

She hesitated longer, and tears stung her eyes. _What if I miss him? What if he misses me? What about the dress Zuko paid for? What -_

The next time she inhaled, salty-flavored liquid shot up her nose and down her lungs. At first she thought a wave had toppled over her and she simply tried to swim back up, but after a moment Toph realized there was actually someone holding her underneath the water.

As the young girl struggled for breath, she came across a startling thought that she actually _didn't_ want to die. Only, now that fact didn't seem to matter anymore, considering someone was clearly murdering her whether she approved it or not.

She was on the brink of passing out when the same hand forcing her down gripped a large chunk of her hair and roughly brought her back up to surface. Toph gasped and wheezed as oxygen rejuvenated her body, prepared to fight if _only_ she was inside her element - literally. The person yanked her closer to them, hard enough to make her yelp and near enough she could feel their body heat.

"Why are you out at night by yourself?" the husky, all-too-familiar voice spoke. "You didn't learn your lesson from last time?"

When she didn't reply, Dai continued. "Oh, right, I forgot, you're a goddamn mute now. Ty Lee was running her mouth off to me about that, how everyone's so worried about you, and some water tribe skank thinks something _unbelievably awful_ must have happened at my party. _My_ party!" he had to stop for a minute to control his ragged breathing. "Listen to me, you little whore, you _never_ said no - you were drunk off your ass and that's definitely not my fault. If you tell _any_ of your friends _anything_ , I will fucking break you, you got it?"

Toph said nothing. He pulled her hair until she cried out. "Yes!"

Seemingly satisfied, he left just as quickly as he had appeared. The earthbender slowly waded out of the water, collapsing onto the shore once she felt the sand creep between her toes.

Toph was numb, but for once there was a foreign energy now entering her bloodstream. It was strong and feisty, shaking her awake even when she felt weak enough to pass out.

Her third epiphany had finally struck her: maybe she _wasn't_ the one at fault.

* * *

 **Okay, I know I've been updating at the speed of a cheetah. That's probably why the chapters aren't astoundingly long. For the remainder of the story, I'm really gonna try and pace myself, I promise.**

 **So much angst, I can't handle it.**

 **Thanks so much for your support and feedback, as always!**

 **Have a great day.**


	6. Chapter 6

_The tide can hold you out._

* * *

She _tried._

She tried so hard, so many times to work up the courage to tell her best friend what had happened.

After the young earthbender had passed out on the beach like a wimp, the group had found her on their way home from the party. Katara was, of course, overly dramatic made it sound like she had some flesh-eating virus just from lying on the ground a few hours, but really Toph had only caught a small cold.

Sokka was so quiet when she returned that she wondered if he was angry with her for sneaking off, but after some time she realized that didn't seem to be the problem. She was getting a lot better, she really was. The small girl ate much more often, and would even engage in daily, friendly banter with her fellow housemates. She was almost the same, except completely different.

She still needed Sokka's arm to act as a life jacket for - well, the entire day, and they did still sleep in her room together at night. But now, he was the one acting strange. At least, stranger.

He still laughed at her jokes, and squeezed her hand goodnight, but it almost seemed _forced_ , like he didn't want to talk to her. Or something. He was keeping his distance, while being right next to her.

This bothered Toph, obviously. At first she had wanted so badly to tell him; the degrading experience was practically crawling out of her throat in the form of sound instead of vomit - for once. _Yet_ , the longer she put off confiding in him, the less desirable the option became in her eyes.

She _couldn't_ tell anyone else, she knew this already. Katara would freak out. Aang would freak out. Zuko would freak out. Meathead was her only choice.

He understood her, he was her _best friend._

The wedding was only one week away, and Toph was going to ask Ty Lee if _he_ was invited, but soon realized that it was a useless question. It was the Fire Lord's wedding, of course it would be an open invitation occasion.

She really wouldn't be able to attend if _he_ was there. This was a fact.

The surge of energy, the breathless sensation of power she had felt after her revelation had soon vanished into nothing. Even though she knew she was right, it didn't make the situation any easier - because her stomach still felt queasy, her head still hurt…

Every time the young girl practiced her confession in the mirror, she sounded like such an _idiot_ that she wanted to puke.

"Sokka," was too formal.

"Snoozles," was too informal.

"Meathead," was too insulting.

Why was this so difficult for her? Why couldn't the words just float off of her breath?

Toph was with him as she thought about this. They were eating lunch together; she munched on her drumstick thoughtfully, her shoulder pressed against his arm since she was so much smaller.

She loved being with him more than anything, even doing something as trivial as eating a meal. Just his presence made her feel warm all over - _ugh, God, snap out of it!_

She choked on a small piece of bone and, after a moment of struggle, quickly chugged it down with water.

"You okay?" her companion asked softly, his exhalation heating her ears up twenty degrees.

"Fine," the earthbender coughed.

 _At least he cares_ , she thought ruefully.

He didn't finish his meal, but instead stood up to stand behind her and began braiding her hair.

* * *

Since the Blind Bandit was a full-fledged weakling now, it was no surprise to her that she was incredibly uncomfortable and out-of-place whenever Sokka wasn't around.

Katara and Ty Lee were doing an extra fitting with her wedding outfit, just to be positive it still fit her alright. She refused to let them watch her change, and, complete with flushed cheeks, sprinted to her bedroom with the outfit in hand.

Once she was fully clothed, Toph allowed the two girls to come inside.

"Toph? I'm right outside whenever you're done," Sokka called out as the door closed behind Ty Lee. There was a difficult silence, and Toph could practically _feel_ the acrobat's lips split into a grin.

Katara was checking the seams on the collar of the dress when Ty Lee finally spoke, "So, is he, like, your bodyguard or something now?"

"Ty Lee!" the waterbender scolded.

The fire nation teen giggled. "Well, I think it's cute. I wish I could remember my first crush."

Toph suddenly felt her face grow so warm she might faint.

* * *

He heard the lock click, and swung the door open - only to hear a soft thud hit the ground, accompanied by a quiet groan. Glancing around, Sokka surveyed the scene in front of him.

He had accidentally slammed Toph in the face with a rather heavy door.

"Ah - Toph!" he sputtered, choking on his own spit. The tribesman immediately bent down and cradled the girl's small head in his hands, concerned he had caused a concussion or maybe even something worse. "Are you - ''

"Save it, Snoozles." Sure enough, the young earthbender perked her head up, supporting herself on her elbows. "I'm fine, seriously. Don't worry."

Sokka stood back up, reaching out a steady hand to assist his friend as well. She, for once, gratefully took the aid and proceeded to dust herself off once she was back on her own two feet. "Thanks."

That was new as well. "Yeah, no problem," he replied, his gaze remaining on her braid for a minute. He had really outdone himself on that particular day.

He cleared his throat, "Anyway… I, uh, set up a picnic - just for us two. I want to talk to you about something."

Toph was smart enough to realize this wasn't an offer, but a request. She nodded, linking arms with her best friend. "Lead the way, hotman."

* * *

The pair sat down, munching on jerky and fish in silence. The earthbender's appetite still wasn't _quite_ what it used to be, but she was certainly eating. Sokka, on the other hand, was consuming his meal at a ridiculously slow pace, especially for _him._

The warrior was seated across from her, so she couldn't lean on him or do anything of the like. She spoke at the same time he did, "I - ''

"I - ''

"You first," Toph commanded, dropping her jerky back onto the plate with a soundless vibration.

Sokka recoiled from his food as well. His heart was pounding, his voice nervous and unsure. "I'm not sure if you know this, but sometimes when war prisoners are captured, they commit suicide in order to accomplish a few important things. One, guarantee that the enemy won't ever receive any information from them. Two, save themselves from life inside a cell."

"Okay," the young girl nodded her head.

He was short of breath. "Toph, you can't swim."

"Yeah, I know."

"Okay," Sokka said, an unfamiliar edge to his tone, "If you know you can't swim, then why did you go to the beach by yourself?"

She stopped chewing, but he continued to speak. "Nobody else questioned it, but the more I thought about it the more confused I became. _Frustrated_ , too. It didn't make any sense - you were wet, too, so you can't say that you just went for a walk or something. You went _in the water_ , I know because Katara told me there was a bunch of sand in your hair."

Toph didn't have an answer.

"Please... talk to me," the tribesman begged, reaching a hand out to rest on his companion's own small, pale pair folded neatly in front of her legs. "You can't keep things from anymore, because now I know it's hurting you. I _need_ you... I need you to tell me."

Toph spoke without thinking, her eyes downcast. "I… I'm not strong anymore."

The young earthbender cringed; she could practically feel his confusion as he paused, then quietly inquired, "What do you mean?"

"It happened because I was weak, because I couldn't do anything…"

"Toph," Sokka spoke softly, but firmly. She raised her head, forever gazing past his face. He lay a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"I need you to trust me, and tell me what happened," he instructed softly.

So, she did.

* * *

It was like a dam had been split from between her lips. Toph began speaking low and fast, so quick he really just couldn't quite understand her.

"Slow down," the tribesman said, watching her shoulder blades rise up and down as her breath had quickened, "Can you start from the beginning?"

The small girl bit her lip, furrowing her eyebrows as she rummaged through her mind. She hung her head heavy as she proceeded to speak, "I… I went to the party. With Aang and Katara, when I first got here. I was bored, and I didn't have anything else to do, that's why I went."

Katara had mentioned a party, but the details were rather vague. His friend continued, "Everything was wooden, I couldn't really see," she cleared her throat, "This - something started talking to me, brought me juice, only it tasted too… I don't think it was juice, anymore."

 _Wait._ "Something?" the warrior inquired.

Toph sunk into herself even more drastically. " _He_ ," she corrected herself. "I felt sick. He said he would help me."

Sokka had a rotten feeling in the pit of his stomach, nestling somewhere between his rapidly beating heart and intestines. But he ignored it, for now, and continued to listen to his friend's tale.

"He didn't." the young earthbender said shortly, removing her hand from underneath his and drawing her knees to her chest.

"Toph, did he…" Sokka struggled to find the right way to word his delicate question, "...try anything?"

Toph cradled her head with her two hands, rocking back and forth slowly. "I… I'm not like that, okay? I never - never wanted to… I never even think about things like that! It's gross!" her voice cracked as she spoke defensively.

The tribesman hurried over to his friend, seating himself behind her and petting her head in a comforting manner. "Sh, sh," he murmured, "It's okay."

She didn't seem to believe him, as the sobs kept her body convulsing. "You don't understand," Toph sniffled, "I… I had to… to…"

"It's okay… it isn't your fault..." Sokka tried his hardest to soothe her, but at this point she seemed inconsolable. Toph just slumped back into his chest and clutched his arm to her stomach, tears pattering against his skin. Of course he didn't mind; not at all.

Sokka's mind was, admittedly, a little numbed with the valuable and disturbing information he'd just been told. Or, insinuated. Guessed. _Whatever_! It was still disgusting, it was still probably the worst thing he'd ever heard in his whole life. Toph was just a _kid_ , she was the most precious thing to him in the world and to hear this -

"I didn't want to," the girl mumbled, her voice a bit muffled by the warrior's arm. He held her a bit tighter as she continued, "I didn't like it, I swear. I'm not like that - ''

" _Shhh_ , Toph, it's okay." Sokka comforted her as best as he could, his mind wandering elsewhere as she proceeded to weep. This person - this vile, human trash - he was going to hurt them. In the water tribe, rapists were castrated by the men of the tribe. Tradition was important to him, after all.

The small earthbender continued to cry and sniffle and quiver in his arms like a child. He felt miserable with the most toughest person he'd ever met shattering right on top of him, that all these things had happened and he had _no_ idea, that he hadn't been there to protect her...

 _From now on_ , he decided firmly, _we have to stay together. All the time, no matter what._

After the wedding, the pair wouldn't be parting ways again for who knows how long. Sokka just wouldn't allow it, never again. He needed to be with her, to hug her and hold her hand and talk to her at night, and he really hoped that she needed the same thing.

Toph had gone still, but Sokka kept stroking her hair, gently fingering the braid he had created himself. She soundlessly ran her smooth fingers over his bicep, exhaling slowly. He realized her tears had disappeared.

"Sokka?" the young girl croaked out, her voice clearly damaged from crying.

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone, please."

 _What?_ "Toph, you could be really hurt. Katara needs to look at you - ''

"No, I'm fine. I only bled for a few days."

The tribesman suddenly stopped petting her hair. "That's why you were bleeding?"

She nodded, gradually loosening her grip on his arm. The earthbender rested her ear against Sokka's heartbeat, letting her fingers lay near his belly button, unmoving.

The distinctive affectionate act was new and unfamiliar to him; usually he was greeted with a smack, but Sokka was far too angry to cuddle. Reflexively, he wrapped his arms around the small girl, holding a bit too tight.

"Ow," Toph complained. He grasp went slack.

"Toph," he spoke, feeling discrete movements where she lay. He took it as a response. "This… thing, what's his name?"

The young girl paused, before whispering, "Dai. He's friends with Ty Lee."

 _That's the ugliest name I've ever heard in my entire life,_ Sokka thought bitterly. He ducked his head down, placing a soft kiss on the top of Toph's head.

This Dai, this person that had made Toph cry and bleed - he was going to be punished. Sokka would make sure of it if it was the last thing he ever did.

"I promise to you," Sokka said, "I will do whatever I can."

* * *

 **I hope Sokka's reaction is believable. Keep in mind that he is slightly more mature in this story, as comes with age.**

 **This chapter was very difficult to write, I changed things so many times I can't even quite remember the original version. Ha.**

 **Side note: I read The Rift for the first time a few days ago, and I've got to say I'm not a fan of Satoru/Toph. Same problem I have with Suki: he's too boring and all the romance seems a bit forced. Plus, how old is he? He looks, like, 25. Weird.**

 **Anyways, of course, thank you for your feedback so far!**

 **Have a great day.**


	7. Chapter 7

_Go quiet now, go sound, go safe._

* * *

When Toph woke up, their hands were still intertwined. His was a little sticky with sweat, but she didn't mind. She even smiled a little, carefully unattaching hers from his, and swung her feet over the mattress to graze the floor. She stayed there for a minute, just appreciating him being there with _her,_ like _this..._

"Whad're you doon?" Sokka asked hazily, clearly still half-asleep.

"Gonna go practice my earthbending," she answered, leaning her head forward, "It's been a while."

"One sec, one sec, I'm gon' come." he _said_ this, but it sure didn't sound like the tribesman was getting out of bed anytime soon.

Of course Toph wanted him to rest, but at the same time she really wanted him with her as she trained. So, naturally, she rolled back onto the bed and began beating him with a large, fluffy pillow.

"Ah! Toph! _Toph_!" the warrior cried out, "You're killing me! I've been slain! Agh!"

He continued to grunt and groan like an idiot for nearly ten minutes, acting like the young earthbender was shooting fireballs and knives at him instead of satin and cotton. She laughed, laughed much harder than she should have been. It was super dumb, considering nothing was really even that _funny_ , but she was just so stupid and happy that her guffaws sounded giggly and excited, entirely like a little girl's. Or, _worse_ , Aang's.

Toph collapsed on top of her friend, burying her face into the pillow. She wheezed and her shoulders shook as she continued to cackle.

"You're so dumb," she told Sokka, wiping a tear from her eye, "I literally hate you."

"Oh, really? You hate me?"

The earthbender punched him in the arm. "You know what I mean."

* * *

"So, how are you feeling?" Toph heard him ask from where he was sitting somewhere on the sidelines. She stomped the ground, feeling the earth rise up right in front of her, and lightly fired it, not intending to do any real damage.

"Good," she answered, this time using her slightly-weaker left foot for her step.

It was true, too. Toph felt better, brighter, more alive than she had in weeks. She had been revived, air once again filled her lungs and her nostrils flared every time she breathed. She walked and talked just like she used to.

Everything was better now, because she told him. Because he was her _friend._

"I'm glad," Sokka said honestly, albeit a bit distracted. He was probably biting his nails, or trying to catch a bug in his mouth, or something equally as meatheaded. _Typical._

Toph raised her hands upwards, creating a layer of earth that hoisted her a few feet higher into the air. It was… refreshing, to be out on dirt, practicing what she did best instead of cowering in some corner. Euphoric, maybe. She felt terrific, strong, powerful, every good word she could think of, that was how she felt.

"I like watching you earthbend," the tribesman admitted a little sheepishly, maybe three or four feet below her. Toph's lips cracked into an embarrassed grin as she inquired, "Why?"

"You're just so... different," Sokka said to her, his tone now turned endearingly thoughtful, "Different from anyone I've ever met in my whole life. Your fighting style, the way you bend - Katara starts bending water before she even knows what to do with it, but you wait and you listen. _Then_ you bend _._ "

The young girl played the words over in her mind, her cheeks heating up instinctively. "I have to start training more often. My abilities have lessened _considerably_ these last few weeks," Toph said with a sigh, lowering the earth and then plopping down next to her friend.

"Didn't notice." the warrior's warm voice indicated genuinity.

"Didn't think you would," the small girl smiled, giving him a soft punch in the arm. "Actually, when was the last time you even saw me bend? My fifth birthday?"

" _Ha, ha_. Does it really matter?" Toph felt Sokka rub his arm, suppressing a groan from contact with the now-sensitive spot. "You've always been good."

She scoffed, " _Good_? Snoozles, I could break the whole world in half if I wanted to, thank you very much."

"My apologies, Miss Terrific and Powerful Toph Beifong, O Beautiful and Honorable Blind Bandit," the tribesman spoke in a very cultured, haughty accent. Toph waved him off, crossing her arms over her chest as she swallowed a snort.

" _Please_ , stop. You sound like my dad."

"I hope I'm at least a little bit better-looking than your dad. You know, being, like, thirty years younger and all."

"Oh, don't worry," a smirk ran across her lips, "I _definitely_ think so, without a doubt."

* * *

"Role call for Fire Lord Zuko's very special, very important meeting for his very special, very important _wedding_ will now begin!" Ty Lee announced, her bubbly voice cramming itself into every single crack and crevice of Toph's ears.

"Really, Ty Lee? I don't think we need to take attendance, I can clearly see that everyone is here." Zuko sounded quite grumpy, even more than usual.

"Please shout out _here_ when you have heard your name! Fire Lord Zuko?" Ty Lee called out, ignoring the firebender's protests.

" _Really_?"

"Hm, guess he isn't here, considering I didn't hear anything."

"Ugh, fine. _Here_."

Toph heard Ty Lee tap out some kind of mark with a pencil. Against paper, or a clipboard, or one of those things. She had never really understand writing, for obvious reasons.

"Avatar Aang?"

"Here!" _Tap._

"Katara… erm… Miss Water Tribe?"

"Here!" _Tap._

"Mr. Sokka Water Tribe?"

"Here!" _Tap._

"Toph Beifong?"

"Here." _Tap._

"Mai…Mrs. Mai Zuko?"

"...Here." _Tap._

"Momo?"

There was a squeak, and then one last _tap._ Ty Lee quickly dropped the pencil and exclaimed, "Okay, guys, everyone is here! We can now begin the official Fire Lord Zuko very special, very important - ''

"Alright, so, anyways," Zuko interrupted his childhood friend, even speaking over her muted mumbles of displeasure. "This will be our last meeting before the wedding, which is in approximately six days - ''

"Five days," Mai's voice spoke curtly. Zuko chuckled nervously.

" _Five days_. This meeting is primarily to discuss pre-wedding formalities, tradition amongst all of our four nations..."

 _It's probably a tea party, or a lousy etiquette class or something,_ Toph thought to herself miserably, _because God knows I didn't get enough of those as a kid. Would anyone notice if I fell asleep? Do I snore?_ She closed her eyes, prepared to find out.

"...the bachelor and bachelorette parties."

The earthbender's eyes shot open, and she heard various sounds of surprise coming from all over the table as well.

"I don't think the monks had bachelor parties," Aang mused from Toph's right.

"A bachelor party? I've never been to one!" Sokka squawked from her left, causing her _very sensitive_ eardrums to pound. "Zuko, can you spot me a few drinks? I'm almost eighteen, I swear, just a few more months and then - ''

"There will be _no drinking involved,_ since I'm the only one here of legal age," Zuko said firmly, "These events will take place the day prior to the wedding. Ladies will be going out for tea then watching a theater performance, and us guys will be served to a five-course-meal at a nice, traditional restaurant."

"You're killing me here, Sparky. Tea? Really?" Toph grumbled, throwing her head into her two hands and scratching at her scalp uncomfortably.

"Wha - _Sparky_?" Zuko practically screeched.

"Oh my gosh, Toph, we're going to have so much fun!" Ty Lee squealed, bouncing up and down in her seat. Or something. The vibrations were a little fuzzy. "You, me, Katara, Mai - taking on the _world_ together! I can't wait!"

Sokka squeezed her small shoulder from where he sat on her left. She turned to him as he spoke in a low voice, "You know, if you really don't want to go, I can talk to Zuko and you can come with us to dinner instead. Nobody will think it's - ''

Toph cut him off, "No, Snoozles, it's okay. I'll just suck it up." _Translation: I'm not weak anymore, I'm going to show everyone I don't need to hold your dumb hand all the time to be normal…_

"Wait," Aang spoke suddenly, lightly slapping a hand onto the table, "Will Momo be joining the guys for dinner, or seeing the play?"

The lemur croaked. Toph groaned.

* * *

Sokka's eyes had never closed.

He was a _little_ tired; they had stayed up pretty late talking before she had finally fallen asleep. That was okay; he liked talking. Carefully, he unhooked their fingers, quietly swaying his large feet over the mattress and making his exit as stealthily as possible.

The water tribe boy desperately hoped that nobody was awake to question his late-night endeavors, but he doubted it anyway. Aang and Katara both went to sleep at, like, _nine_ every night and Zuko wasn't too far behind. Mai and Ty Lee, however, he really wasn't sure.

Sokka slipped out the back door, and returned to the same spot he had accompanied Toph to that morning. There were random slabs of earth raised from her bending practice, which he was more than grateful for to use as target practice. He silently unsheathed his sword, admiring the glint of silver gifted over his weapon by the precious moon unabashedly. As he began to slash at Toph's earth, practicing forms and strikes and absolutely everything there was to practice at all, Sokka's mind was blank aside from raw fury and dedication.

 _I've got to be strong,_ he told himself, _I've got to train twenty times harder every single night if I'm going to kill him!_

The teenager revisited every technique, every tactic, every hit he had _ever_ been taught and soon the ground underneath him was so scratched up he was concerned Toph would cut her feet walking on it. He would have to warn her to be careful when she woke up.

The overwhelming fatigue lulled him to the earth, where he kneeled over and coughed until his mind cleared up. Sokka fell forwards, rolling onto his back as he gazed up at the moon, bright and beautiful in the night sky. Constellations created an attractive frame around the celestial body, their own unique, shimmering beauty complementing the moon very nicely.

 _If Yue is the moon,_ he mused over the pang of his tired body, _maybe Toph is the stars._

* * *

 **I set eighteen as the legal drinking age since in China, that actually _is_ the legal drinking age. I did my research.**

 **Thank you so much for your feedback and support so far! I honestly appreciate every review, every follow, and every favorite!**

 **Have a great day.**


	8. Chapter 8

_Now I'm seeing the way that you're leaving without me._

* * *

Sokka's newfound late night routine continued for days; he would fall asleep with her, lie there in her bed until he heard familiar little soft snores, and then quietly take his leave from the room.

He would train for hours, train until his body was breaking and skin tearing at tendons. He would appreciate the moon and the stars, and he'd even talk to Yue for a little bit while he was cooling down.

 _I have to kill someone,_ he confessed while holding his head between his hands, _I hope you don't think differently about me after I do - it's for someone I really care about, somebody that I love. That's why I have to do it._

And then he would finally return to her, for the rest of the night and day they would never separate until twenty-four hours later, when he would leave to train again.

* * *

Every time he moved his arm, it was like a knitting needle went flying and lodged itself inside his vertebrae. Sokka flinched at every single spoonful; eating cereal was quickly proving itself to be the most painful experience of his _life_.

He and Toph were the only two residents currently seated at the table. Since they usually stayed up the latest, it was only natural that they were _also_ the last to rise.

It was well past noon and the pair were just in the middle of eating their breakfasts. Well, the others were missing out anyway - nobody _else_ got to talk to the young earthbender as much as Sokka did, after all.

"Man, I can't believe you get to stuff your face full while I'm going to be stuck at some stupid girly tea party," Toph grumbled, shoveling food into her mouth angrily. "Zuko might as well tie weights to my feet and throw me in the ocean."

"Okay, I'm sure it's not going to _that_ bad," the tribesman said empathetically, making a face as the pain in his shoulder flamed up again. "You've been to a tea party before, haven't you?"

"Of course I have, how else would I know how much I absolutely _hated_ them?" the blind girl furrowed her eyebrows, a faint dribble of milk trailing down her chin. She hastily wiped it away as she waited for Sokka's reply.

The warrior moved to make a gesture, but was thwarted once again by the persistent discomfort in his muscles. He coughed until the pain subsided, and then spoke, "You'll be fine. I'll even bring you back some leftovers."

"Oh my goodness, Sokka, how can I ever repay you?" Toph flung her hand out to the side, both her words and action dripping in sarcasm.

Sokka chuckled. "I'll think of something, I promise. Now turn to the side and I'll braid your hair."

"I think Ty Lee wants to do it herself, but maybe if you work on it first she'll feel bad about taking it out," Toph spoke as she turned to the side, giving the her friend full access to her long mane.

"Oh, no, you don't, water tribe!" a pitchy, feminine voice called out - or more like _screeched_ out. Toph groaned as Sokka's hands were forcefully swatted away from her hair. He immediately returned to his bowl of cereal, shrugging helplessly ignoring Toph's pleas as the acrobat practically dragged his best friend from the table by the wrist. "Sorry, Toph. I tried."

"That sad, poor, shriveled up baby _weasel_ attempt is what you call _effort_?" Toph cried out, trying to plant her feet into the ground. It was no use; no matter how strong the young girl was, she was still small, and much smaller than Ty Lee at that. "I thought we were _friends_!"

"Best friends," he corrected her, wincing again as he raised his right arm to continue munching on his breakfast.

 _Is this what hard work feels like?_ the tribesman wondered to himself thoughtfully, rolling his shoulder around in its socket.

* * *

 _Is this what death feels like?_ Toph thought to herself grimly.

Ty Lee had only just _begun_ her torture, and the earthbender already wanted to drown herself in the sink. She was currently being treated to a manicure; the color of which her nails were being painted she obviously had _no_ idea. "Hey, Ty Lee?"

"Yeah?"

"What color are you painting my nails?"

"White!" the fire nation teen replied happily, cheerfully continuing her job on Toph's hand without missing a beat, "Because it goes with everything!"

"Oh… uh, I see," Toph lied. There was an acute silence, which seemed much longer than it actually was with the relentless, bizarre sensation of a tiny wet brush sliding across her nails.

Ty Lee was the one to break the silence. "Okay, Toph! Since I _like_ you, I'm going to teach you some things, alright?"

"Alright." the earthbender pulled her knees up into her chest, leaving her hands out for the acrobat to work on.

"Boys are very weird, very confusing creatures," Ty Lee sounded like she was reading out of a handbook. "They really, really like certain things, and of course they _dis_ like certain things too. All you have to do is make sure you do the things that they like, and _then_ they'll like _you_!"

"Sounds easy enough," Toph said, readjusting her position on the bathroom stool to become more comfortable. The circus girl released her hand and said, "I know, right? Let your nails dry for a minute, and then I'll do your toes."

Toph nodded as Ty Lee continued her feminine mantra. "So, anyways, like I was saying - _boys_. Never talk to a boy first. You have to make them come to you _._ To do that, you gotta look at them just _once_ and then never again. It'll drive them crazy, I promise! If they don't ever come over to talk to you, then they're not a man, and you don't _need_ them. Okay?"

The blind girl nodded again. _Yup, I'm great at looking at people. It's actually one of my hidden talents._

Ty Lee began working on her toenails, and then resumed her speech. "When you're talking to a boy, tell him only your name and nothing else. _Always_ say you're two years older than you actually are. Me, I'm only seventeen, but when I'm talking to a boy, I'm nineteen! Get it?"

 _Who makes up all these rules?_ Toph wondered dully. _Besides, Sokka knows how old I am. There's no point in lying to him._

"Toes are done!" Ty Lee announced giddily. "Let them dry. Okay, so - if a boy brings you a drink, under no circumstances should you drink it! Like I said, boys are weird. You wouldn't drink _cactus juice_ , would you?"

Toph's throat felt very inexplicably dry all of a sudden. She hung her head a little lower than usual, completely unwilling to revisit those _bad memories_ and equally unwilling to show any weakness to this girl. She would have to talk to Sokka later, get this experience off her chest, get the prickly crawly sensation off her skin...

The acrobat paused, before instructing Toph, "Turn around."

The younger girl obeyed, and then felt smooth, dainty fingers prying at the braid Sokka had crafted from her hair, pulling the long strands apart effortlessly.

"When you're talking to a boy, you don't even really have to say anything," Ty Lee continued as she sorted through her hair, "Just laugh at all his jokes, even when they're not funny - _especially_ when they're not funny. Giggle when he compliments you, but don't say, 'Thank you!' or else he'll think you're full of yourself, and boys don't like that."

She then began creating a new, more elaborate design on Toph's hair. It seemed as if it came like second nature to her. "Never mention that you know how to fight, or that you're a bender, even. If he arm-wrestles you, you have to let him win every time."

 _I can beat any boy,_ the earthbender thought to herself, _Sokka knows that. Aang knows that. Zuko knows that. They all still like me._

While Ty Lee's guide book seemed ridiculous at first glance, Toph had to admit there was a sliver of truth hidden inside all of these stupid rules. She _knew_ that there was a difference between how the guys looked at her and how they looked at Ty Lee; Toph didn't need any help carrying the supplies, and she was always allowed to listen in while Aang and Sokka discussed that _really, really, crazy beautiful girl in Ba Sing Se_ or be trusted as the fair referee of a burping contest. Ty Lee, on the other hand, had the door held open for her. She giggled instead of bursting out into stupid laughter and would go to the restroom at the same time with every other girl at the table - not including Toph.

 _There really is a girl handbook! Oh man, I seriously can't remember everything!_ Toph panicked, anxiety rising up in her chest and tightening her stomach as she attempted to recall everything Ty Lee had told her in the past hour.

The circus girl abruptly pulled very tightly on the Toph's new and improved braid, emitting a squeak from the younger girl. Ty Lee ignored her, swirling the plait around itself to form what Toph could only assume was a bun.

Ty Lee circled around her, like a predator closing in on its meal, and then abruptly stopped right in front of her face. She clapped her hands together and said, "You're super pretty, Toph, so I'm not going to put a lot of makeup on you. Just some powder and blush, okay?"

She ignored the compliment. "Yeah, whatever."

"If a boy ever asks you if you're wearing any makeup, the answer is _always_ no. Even when you are, still say no." Bizarre, puffy little pillows were being patted onto Toph's face, all over her eyes and cheeks and chin. It made her gag a little bit.

"And, we're done! Oh, you look so gorgeous, you don't even _know_! Now we just have to get you into your dress, and you'll be all ready! _Eek,_ I'm so excited!"

Though Toph wasn't a fan of the way Ty Lee squealed, she was glad that the older girl at least knew better than to hug her. Physical contact was still a _major_ no-no.

"You're going to be so popular with boys, really! Boys _love_ feeling stronger than girls, and they love being in control! Even though I know you can see perfectly fine, if you want a boy to like you, you should totally pretend that you can't. It'll even give you an excuse to hold his hand."

This was perhaps the most useless piece of advice yet. Why would she have worked _so_ hard to prove she was strong, just to become weak for some _boy_? Despite how peculiar Ty Lee's guidance was, at least _one_ thing rang true.

"Boys love being in control, that's for sure," Toph mumbled.

* * *

"Sokka, you can't bring a _sword_ to this restaurant. Seriously, you'll embarrass all of us!"

Sokka straightened out his coat, ignoring the fire lord's protests. "Relax, Sparky. I'll hide it underneath my clothes, okay?"

" _Sparky_?" Zuko sputtered, "You too, now? Agh, anyways - you _can't_ bring it! Why would you even need a sword? We're going out to have a nice meal at an expensive restaurant, not invading a city!"

"I just... feel safer with it, okay?" the tribesman attempted to sound nonchalant, but couldn't _quite_ mask the nervous edge to his voice.

The fire lord narrowed his eyes, a suspicious look crossing his face. "You're _hiding_ something."

"Both of you really just need to relax. Zuko, if Sokka wants to bring his sword, let him bring his sword. He should be respected as a brave warrior that fought and put his life on the line to end the war and treated as such. And Sokka, cut poor Sparky a break. He's very on edge with everything going on right now and he's also clearly stressed out about the wedding tomorrow." Aang spoke calmly as the voice of reason, which both sides of the argument had no choice but to coincide with. He _was_ the Avatar, after all.

"Wait, you too with the Sparky - ''

"Zuko, is our ride here yet? 'Cause we're all ready," Mai's deadbeat voice suddenly filled the room, causing the three boys - and Momo - to turn towards the hallway, where they saw all four girls dressed in their formal attire.

Of course, Ty Lee and Mai were always rather attractive, but Mai was obviously taken by Zuko and Ty Lee was too much of a flirt to ever be considered obtainable. Katara was Sokka's sister - _ew_ \- so naturally the warrior's eyes shifted to the smallest girl of the bunch, and became astonished by the view he was treated to.

She was _so_ tiny, so cute, not even five feet tall - a peanut compared to the other girls standing next to her. Her face was so demure and delicate, skin glowing with translucency and her indistinct eyes gleamed of power and radiance. She had the _perfect_ face; so sweet and dainty with defined, pink cheekbones and a pointed chin - the massive bun on top of her head was large enough to rival her entire skull. Her dress was very pretty; Sokka was at a loss for words. Never before had he seen his best friend look so elegant, so _captivating..._

She looked unaware, unfazed with a blank look blurred across her face; _that was right, she didn't even know how she looked._ Whilst Ty Lee and Katara batted their eyelashes, fully conscious of the effect they were having, Toph was absolutely clueless.

"You all look _very_ nice!" Aang chirped, his voice raising in pitch due to his humility. Zuko nodded his agreement, virtually unimpressed with the women; he saw Mai in extravagant gowns and hairstyles almost everyday. _It must lose its effect after a while,_ Sokka realized. He considered himself lucky.

"I'm pretty sure they're are outside already," Zuko glanced at the clock hanging a few feet above Katara's head. "Come on, we'll show you out."

"We can escort ourselves just _fine_ , Zuko. We're big girls, don't you remember?" Mai said with a smirk, running her thin fingers up her boyfriend - _fiancé_ 's coated arm. "Overprotective, now, aren't we?"

"Can you blame me?" the fire lord shrugged, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek, "Bye, love you."

"Bye, Katara, have fun!" Aang said as she passed, having regained a little bit of the gusto in his voice. Katara smiled at him, bending in for a quick peck before she followed Mai out the door.

Sokka felt unnerving, expectant eyes on him, causing him to act drastically and call out, "Uh - bye... everyone! Have a good time!" His voice cracked on his last word. Toph stuck her tongue out at him before Ty Lee closed the door, leaving the boys with only themselves.

After a moment of silence, Aang said, "No offense, but that was pretty lame, Sokka."

He just slumped his shoulders and sighed. " _Yeah_."

* * *

"What kind of refreshments would you like?" the waitress asked, holding a small notepad in her hand.

"Jasmine tea, please," Zuko told her, never even raising his eyes off the menu. Aang smiled, making complete eye contact with the server as he said, "Same for me."

"Lavender," Sokka ordered, feeling the stiff, expensive-looking menu stutter in his hands as they trembled incessantly. He quickly dropped the booklet on the table, folding his sweaty palms into his lap as he tried to reason with himself

 _I gotta calm down! Gotta. Calm Down. Calm, calm, calm..._

"Sokka?"

The water tribe boy sharply picked his head up. "What?"

"I asked if you wanted the brown rice or white rice for our first course." Zuko sounded - and looked - a little annoyed.

"First?" his mind was fuzzy. "Um, how many are there?"

"Ten."

" _Ten?!_ " Sokka cried out. "In a traditional meal, there are only _five_!"

"Well, yeah. But I'm royalty, and this is a special occasion," Zuko was relatively unfazed by his friend's dramatics, picking at a piece of lint on the sleeve of his dress shirt as he spoke.

"You're the fire lord, not a woolly mammoth!" the warrior exclaimed. "How is Aang supposed to eat that much?! How is _Momo_ supposed to eat that much?!" The lemur squawked from where it sat perched on the Avatar's shoulder.

Zuko rolled his eyes, flicking the lint onto the floor. "Somehow, you'll survive."

* * *

"...Miss?"

Toph blinked. "What?"

"I asked if you would like tea with your jasmine, Miss," a faint, polite voice said.

"Oh. Oh yeah, sure," the blind earthbender agreed numbly, forgetting she had ever even ordered jasmine tea. What even _was_ her favorite kind of tea again?

She was so bored she was forgetting her whole _identity._

There was a random giggle from across the table. "You look very pretty, Toph."

 _So everyone keeps telling me._ "I'll believe it when I see it," she replied gruffly, drawing even _more_ giggles from the girls surrounding her.

Hilarious. Katara and Ty Lee lived for this kind of crap, she could tell. Turning beautiful, wearing lavish clothing, being cared for and served, they absolutely _loved_ it. Toph, on the other hand, despised all types of supervision, any kind of fussy, formal events she had to be scrubbed clean for.

As a child, Toph took private etiquette classes ten hours a week to ensure that when the time came for her to be a perfect little lady, she behaved exactly as a perfect little lady would. She would cross her ankles but not her legs when she sat _as she was told,_ fold her hands in her lap while she waited for her tea to cool _as she was told,_ and never speak out of turn _as she was told._ It was aggravating to be so tight-lipped, so taciturn all the time.

She had been pampered and serviced every day of her life until she was twelve, and at this point she was just _sick_ of it... if she felt one more person kneel by her side and ask if she wanted a warm towel, there was a terrific chance she would pummel them right down into hell then and there.

Toph furrowed her eyebrows, a soft sigh emitting from her lips. _Why_ did she have to be so complicated? So different from other girls? It was nearly impossible to become interested in the conversation they were having; something gut-wrenching about the first time Aang and Katara kissed. _Blegh._

As she tried to swallow her tongue as far back into her throat as it could go, tried to remember little games she had played with herself back when this was just etiquette class, only one thought consumed her mind: _I miss Sokka._

* * *

 **I seriously tried _so_ hard to get the full bachelor/ette parties in here, but the word count just would not budge. I tried. **

**All the things Ty Lee said about boys, please don't take any of it seriously! Obviously Ty Lee has crafted her own warped perception of boys and how to make them like her in order to make up for her faulty home life. The whole thing is meant to be ridiculous, so don't take anything personally :)**

 **Also, I'm debating (for future reference) if I should make this story canon according to the comics - AKA the Promise, the Rift, etc etc. How many of you guys have actually read the comics?**

 **As always, thank you so much for your feedback so far!**

 **Have a great day.**


	9. Chapter 9

_Nobody wants to be the only one to say they can't._

* * *

" _Zuko_?"

"Yeah?"

"This is too much," Aang groaned, cradling his stomach and grunting like there was a baby inside of him. " _Way_ too much. I feel like I'm about to explode."

"But we're only on the fourth course!" Zuko exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air angrily.

"Yeah, only the fourth course and we've already had three bowls of rice, a gallon of soup, and two plates of vegetable dumplings," Sokka said, frowning as his intestines bellowed in agreement.

The fire lord shook his head profusely, attempting to shut down his friends. "No, no, you guys don't understand. This is my _tradition,_ my _culture…_ "

"Hey, it isn't our fault your culture is boring," the warrior shrugged his shoulders while gnawing on his straw absentmindedly. "Not to mention painful. In the water tribe, we just go hunting the day before our wedding. Simple and sweet."

Aang leaned his chin against the palm of his hand, lazily resting his elbow on the table. "On one hand, I would really love for you to be able to embrace your culture, Zuko. But on the other hand, I'm pretty sure if I eat any more the world is going to need a new Avatar."

"Plus, I'm not going to lie to you, the food _could_ be better," Sokka added. Zuko shot him a dirty look, his face coiling up defensively before he exhaled slowly, defeat registering in his face

"Okay," the fire lord whispered, his eyes snaking over the restaurant from side to side. "But if we're going to escape, we have to do it _secretly_... we will have to leave the table one at a time in order to avoid suspicion. First Aang and Momo, then Sokka, then me. I'll leave a really big tip as an apology."

"Are we going to do our Team Avatar cheer?" Sokka asked.

"We don't _have_ a Team Avatar cheer, you idiot."

"Oh, yeah," Sokka remembered, his mind clouding over with determination. _Better make one._

* * *

"Do you guys think Sokka likes me?" Ty Lee asked.

Toph almost spat out her tea.

"Why? Do you like him?" Katara questioned, making dainty little _lady_ noises as she carefully sipped from her tea cup.

"Well, no." the acrobat admitted, a giggle slipping out of her mouth. "But that doesn't mean I don't want _him_ to like _me_."

Mai laughed, a little bitterly. "You're never going to get any guys to like you with that attitude, you know."

"What are you _talking_ about?" Ty Lee huffed defensively, "Tons of guys like me."

"I think what Mai means is like you as in love you," Katara's gently condescending voice chimed in, "Not just want to… _you know_."

"Want to what?" Ty Lee sounded a bit angry now, irritated even. Toph felt the corners of her mouth perk up into a grin, skillfully concealing her laughter with her teacup as she silently chuckled.

Katara said, "I can't say it with Toph here."

Toph took a _little bit_ of offense to that statement, but it annoyed her even more than it should have because it was a _little bit_ true. Sex made her uncomfortable, even before the incident she had never liked to talk about it. Katara probably knew that from how long they had known and lived each other, but still, it didn't mean she wanted to be treated like a little kid. She was practically an adult!

"Having a boyfriend is nice, Ty Lee," Mai said, clearing her throat loudly to stir the topic. "It's like having a servant, but they actually _want_ to do all the stuff for you. It's liberating, really."

"Do you think Sokka wants to be my boyfriend?" the acrobat wondered aloud.

"Considering you don't even _like_ him... no, I don't," Mai grumbled.

Ty Lee groused. "Well, then who _else_ am I supposed to get to be my boyfriend?"

"There has to be somebody that you like," Katara said optimistically. "Someone you have a crush on?"

The fire nation teen clucked her tongue noisily, carefully racking her mind for faces or names. "I feel like I have a crush on everyone I meet."

"That's not called having a crush, that's called being a slut," Mai said bluntly. Toph choked on her tea, unceremoniously knocking the cup out of her hands and splattering it onto her dress.

 _So clumsy,_ she scolded herself.

"Mai!" Katara chided, likely scowling as she leaned over to hand a few clothy napkins to Toph. The young girl felt incredibly stupid; she wasn't a klutz, it was just that she wasn't _used_ to that kind of language...

No matter how tough she talked, how mature she played, the real honest truth was that Toph Beifong had grown up in a sheltered, isolated home. She had never even _heard_ any foul language until she began travelling with the Avatar, and that was when she was already twelve years old and far from impressionable.

Even so, Toph knew what a _slut_ was, but her definition was self-made based loosely on various sayings and terms she'd collected throughout the years. Even so, she wasn't positive that Ty Lee fit that description entirely. In fact, she was almost certain that _she_ embodied the euphemism way better than the upbeat acrobat did.

Toph desperately wanted to know the true, indisputable meaning of the word to be certain that she was well-educated enough to use it correctly, but wasn't _quite_ willing to give up her pride and ask Katara about. She would have to ask somebody else later; maybe she could stop by Ba Sing Se and talk to Iroh about it sometime.

"We're ready for the bill." Mai spoke off handed to one of the servers passing by.

"There's this one guy I think is cute, but I don't know if he likes me," Ty Lee said dimly.

Leaving the damp napkins lying near Toph's plate, Katara inquired,"What's his name?"

"Dai."

Toph almost sputtered on her tea again, but thankfully demonstrated enough self control to not shoot steam out of her ears.

" _Ew_. No way, he's creepy," Mai shut her down.

"Your bill, Miss. And your transportation is waiting outside."

"You think so?" Ty Lee inquired thoughtfully, casually rotating her body towards the blind girl across the table as she stood up from her seat, collecting her bag from the floor. "What do you think, Toph? You've met him before, right?"

Toph opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"Yeah," she finally said, furrowing her eyebrows as her face shifted. "Definitely weird."

* * *

The three boys walked along the scenic shore of the beach, each one having discarded their dress shoes to avoid getting the expensive fabrics tarnished by water and dirt.

"Are you excited for your wedding, Zuko?" Aang asked kindly, picking up a cracked shell wedged between pillows of sand and gently thumbing over it in his palm. After a minute, the Avatar dropped the item into the pocket of his trousers.

"Nervous," Zuko admitted, his gaze plumeting towards the ground in front of him. "Really nervous. What if I'm not a good husband to her?"

"I mean," Sokka stopped to think for a moment; a rarity. "You guys have been dating since, what? _Elementary school_? If you had a chance to mess it up, I think you would have done it by now."

"Yeah," the fire lord exhaled, his shoulders relaxing as the statement sunk in. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you."

"No problem."

Everything went silent save for for the patterned footsteps of the young trio walking together, along with the sounds of ocean meeting the sand beneath their footsteps.

Aang jumped a little every time a wave touched his toes. He said, "Sokka?"

"Mm-hm?"

"What happened with you and Suki?" the tribesman glanced over at his friend, quickly discerning the honest interest in the younger boy's eyes.

Sokka sighed as he spoke. "I guess…that she didn't really like me as much as I thought."

"Do you still think about her?"

"Not often," Sokka admitted, fumbling with the buttons on his coat uncomfortably. "Lately, I guess I've had more… pressing issues." Probably in his best interest, Aang dropped the topic.

Then picked one up _equally_ as dangerous. "What happened to Toph?"

Sokka stopped walking. "I can't tell you," he replied truthfully, tilting his head upwards at the setting sky. "It's her business, and her place to tell you. Not mine." The stars weren't out yet, but a faint outline of the moon was visible.

"Hey, I think Ty Lee's friend lives over here," Zuko said, stopping suddenly in front of a large, two-story home. "Wonder if he's home."

"What's his name?" the warrior asked absentmindedly, his gaze still fixated on the atmospheric view above himself.

Zuko scratched his head feebly. "Starts with a _D_ , I think."

Sokka paused. "Dai?" he quietly supplied.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's it," Zuko said, letting his hands fall back down to his sides. Sokka ran his long fingers over his blade, invisible. underneath his clothing. He breathed in deeply before saying, "You two can go on ahead."

His eyes trailing back up towards the sky, silently pleading. "I'll stay out here. Just for a minute."

* * *

Sometimes, when Toph was literally bored to _death_ , she would try her best to imagine colors inside her head.

 _Blue_ was Katara's favorite color. The color of the water tribe's eyes. The color of the ocean, of the daytime sky.

Aang wore reds, oranges, and yellows. She had no idea how there could be more than _one_ red, orange, or yellow, but that's what people always said so she had no choice but to believe it.

Red was the color of the fire nation. The color of blood once it was spilled.

Her eyes wore green, but Sokka had once told her they were a _funny_ green. What was that supposed to mean? Out of every green in the universe, her irises were shaded in with the stupid looking one. What luck she had.

Now, as she sat slumped and tired in her very fancy seat on top of the balcony... Toph was glad she couldn't see the stage, as beautiful and colorful as it may be, considering it _sounded_ like absolute shit.

* * *

Sokka carefully traveled up the sandy trail leading to the entryway of his enemy's house, his footsteps heavy with conflict. He darted away from the porchlight before it shown on him, instead cowardly hiding away underneath a tree shadowing the home.

He wondered exactly _how_ he was going to do this. Sneak in through a window and surprise the asshole, or do it very assassin-style, knocking on the door and then offing him in one slice? Was he even strong enough for this?

Once questioned, he thought about this Dai character again. How numb he turned Toph. How _badly_ he hurt her. And then Sokka's fury was ignited once again.

He slowly unsheathed the sword from its hiding spot underneath his coat, setting the over the shoulder casing on the compact ground above the large tree's roots.

He took a step forward, only to become startled by a sudden noise. "Sokka?"

The water tribe boy jumped up a little, spinning around and catching sight of Zuko's equally startled face. "Zuko! Uh - hey…"

"Um, what exactly are you doing?" the fire lord interrogated his friend, crossing his arms over his chest. He definitely seemed a _little_ angrier than Sokka would have appreciated.

"N-nothing, I just - ''

"What were you doing with the sword?" Zuko demanded, cutting him off.

"Um, well, you _see_ \- ''

"Were you going to hurt someone, Sokka?" he pried dangerously further, squinting his eyes as he examined Sokka's slick, guilt-ridden expression. "What… what is _wrong_ with you all of a sudden?"

"Where's Aang?" Sokka asked, deciding to dodge his question.

" _Answer me_!"

The warrior swallowed, hard. His mouth was plain and dry; not even his saliva could moisten up his words. He dropped his sword to the ground and felt his vision go blurry as a lone bead of sweat dribbled into his eyeball. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then explain!"Sokka flinched; Zuko was all heat, no warmth.

"This guy… he did something terrible," Sokka's justification was involuntary and painted nothing but a rather bleak picture for his friend. An idea fervently struck the warrior, and he instantly perked his head upwards to meet Zuko's resentful gaze.

"Wait, Zuko, can't you _do_ something? Something to punish him?"

"That depends," Zuko's forehead wrinkled. "What did he do? You'll need to have evidence to prove it in a court of law, and - ''

"No." Sokka rebutted firmly, his fierce emotions beginning to leak into his otherwise solid voice. He struggled to regain his control. "People _can't_ know. I shouldn't even be telling you _._ ''

The harsh edges of Zuko's expression softened as he listened to the warrior's plea. "Sokka, what did he do?"

"Something terrible," he answered, his eyebrows creasing in discomfort. "Something... unforgivable."

"To Toph," Zuko reckoned, his tone only halfway sure.

Sokka lowered his eyes in confirmation. "Yeah. To Toph."

The fire lord's gaze awkwardly shifted away from his friend. The silence stretched out, both men consumed in their own minds until Zuko eventually spoke. "There are a few, um, _guards_ staying in the guest house behind my beach home. I'll send them to his house in the morning, before everyone wakes up."

"To do what?"

"Arrest him."

Sokka's eyes widened, his breathing cut short as he stared incredulously at the firelord. Zuko continued, "I'll say it's for… direct opposition to the fire lord's orders. It's a bullshit reason, sure, but _technically_ illegal."

Sokka exhaled slowly. "Really?"

"Yes." the ghost of a smile graced itself onto Zuko's lips, completely obscured by the darkness if it wasn't for the moonlight.

The younger boy brashly threw his arms outward, encasing Zuko in a compact, friendly embrace. The fire bender warily returned the hug, alarmed as he felt Sokka's muscles tremble beneath his arms.

"I won't tell anyone about this," he promised, "Just as you protected Toph's secret, I'll protect yours."

"Thank you," Sokka breathed, emotion rippling through his body as he released his friend.

Zuko nodded. "Anything for a friend."

* * *

 **So cheesy, I know, but I can't imagine Sokka just murdering someone in cold blood and not feeling a ridiculous amount of guilt for it. I'm a sucker for friendship, especially when it involves good old dark-and-brooding Zuko.**

 **In other news, we are rapidly approaching the end of this story... or are we? ;) Ha, ha.**

 **As always, thank you for your feedback. It absolutely means the world to me!**

 **Have a great day!**


	10. Chapter 10

_Open hands are hard to hold onto anyway._

* * *

They didn't speak until later that night, when Sokka was already sprawled over across her bed and she had just returned from the bachelorette party. Toph wasn't positive if he was sleeping or not, but _assumed_ he was awake since she didn't hear any of the usual snoring.

He was absolutely silent as she washed her face, as she left the room to change into her pajamas, and then still quiet as she plopped down beside him onto the soft mattress with an exhausted sigh.

"Move over," she said gruffly, rubbing at her sightless eyes sleepily as she listened to the unmistakeable rustling of his movement, shuffling over so she had space to sleep.

"Thanks." Toph crawled underneath the covers, exhaling as she sunk her head into the large, fleecy pillow. It had been a _very_ tiring day; being a girl was insufferably irritating and incredibly strenuous… she had no idea how Katara, Mai, and Ty Lee did it every single day of their lives! Laughing at the right times. Sipping your stupid, flavorless tea in between sentences. Insulting yourself and complimenting someone else, both within the same sentence. None of it made any sense to her at _all._

Suddenly feeling a little insecure, Toph soundlessly grasped outside her fluffy blankets, searching for her companion's hand. It was lying open for her; as always. She pressed her palm down into his larger one. Their fingers crossed over each others as he brushed his thumb slowly over the front of her hand, warming her frosted skin.

"How was it?" Sokka asked quietly, his voice low and tired.

" _Boring_ ," the young girl sighed. "You?"

He paused. "Interesting."

She turned over onto her side to face him. She wondered if he was looking at her, _obsessed_ over it even, as she listened to her unwavering heartbeat echo through the smooth fabric of her pillow. _Slow_ and _steady_. _One_ by _one_. It calmed her.

Toph thought about absolutely everything as she lay there with a still heartbeat, sleeping across from the only person that had ever made her pulse race.

The wedding was tomorrow. What was going to happen? What if _he_ was there? She would have to leave, she really would...

 _Am I ever going to get married?_ Toph abruptly questioned herself.

She emitted a soft breath from her lips as she puzzled over this. The question was: who would want to marry _her_? Who would _she_ want to marry?

She felt her face flush a little bit. There was only one person, and they didn't like her. Not like that, at least.

Was she doomed she feel this way until the day she died? Like her nerves were being pulled at and plucked like guitar strings? Like she just got punched in the face? Like her feet had sunk into concrete?

Toph had always thought love was supposed to feel light and fluffy, to make someone as beautiful and alive as they could possibly be. And yet, _she_ felt like she had been tied to a tree and left for birds to peck her eyes all the way out.

Sokka had gradually slowed down, and then stopped running over her skin with his fingertips. She had already assumed he'd fallen asleep, and was surprised when he spoke. "I missed you today."

Of course, she had missed him. _More_ than she should have. But she was too prideful, too haughty and wouldn't admit that kind of thing so easily. She said in a voice hardly an octave above a whisper, "I'm glad that we're friends."

He squeezed her hand. "Me, too."

* * *

It had been a while, maybe a little less than a week, since Toph had experienced one of her nightmares. At least, one of _those_ nightmares, the kind that left her thrashing and crying as he felt dumb and clueless as to what to do or _how_ to help her.

The sun had just begun to rise when he woke up. The first thing he noticed was the lack of warmth in his palm, the absence of Toph's smaller hand nestled comfortably into his. He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room, blurry due to his fatigue.

Toph had her pillow drawn up to her chest, tightly compressing it with her arms as she wept noisily. Tears ran down her reddened cheeks and her hair lay sprawled out around her. He quickly crawled over, grabbing tender hold of her shoulder and rocking it back and forth carefully.

"Toph," he whispered, "Toph, it's me, Sokka."

He continued shaking her until her eyes opened and body stiffened with fear.

Everytime he woke her up like this, there was always a moment of hesitation. An unspoken paragraph of distrust, of paranoia, of fear.

"Sokka..." her eyes fluttered, leaving a few tears trailing underneath her eyes. With his free other hand, he wiped them away hastily, leaving his thumb to rest on her cheek.

" _Shhh,_ Toph _._ It's _okay_. I'm here for you." He released his grip on her shoulder and instead wrapped her up in an embrace, gently holding her face into the crook of his neck.

His skin began to feel wet from all her sobs, but he ignored the strange sensation and instead focused on her lips pressed lightly against his collarbone. Her breath was hot and shaky, the rest of her body positioned very unsure and awkwardly.

"It's okay," Sokka repeated, and she finally conceded, wrapping her arms around his torso and melting into his hug.

"I was so scared," she sniffed, her voice coming out muffled by his skin.

"I know."

"So _confused_."

"I know."

"I didn't know what to… or how to..."

"I know, Toph," he said, silencing her. He combed through her hair, trying his best to pacify the young girl. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. It's okay."

She paused, allowing his words to process, before slowly uttering an apology, "I'm sorry." Her weeping had _finally_ ceased.

"For what?"

"For not... being strong."

He stopped petting her head. "Oh, Toph," he breathed, planting a kiss onto her temple as she sniffled a little bit.

Sokka glanced over towards the window only to find the curtains drawn with just a sliver of dawn peaking out into the bedroom. He wondered if Zuko was arresting Dai right now, or if it had already happened long ago. He was a little stunned to realize he didn't _really_ care, as long as he was gone and away.

Toph adjusted herself in his grip. When he looked down at her, he was startled to see that she was looking up at him as well, blindness and all.

It made him smile, _just_ a little tug at the corners of his mouth. He was always grabbing her chin, pointing her neck and making it so he could at least _pretend_ she was staring at him while they talked. It irritated her to no end, and usually ended with her smacking his hands away, but she knew to him it made their conversations just _that_ more special.

He lowered the hand tousled in her hair to her cheek, hooking his thumb underneath her jaw and he gazed into her angular opaque eyes dimmed by the darkness of the room. Tears dried at her chin and dribbled down her throat, but she was still easily recognizable. He knew her face anywhere.

"Don't worry," Sokka said, "I will _never_ let anything hurt you ever again."

In response, Toph merely blinked. She wordlessly shook his hand from her face and nuzzled her nose into his chest. He felt her eyelashes bristle against his bare skin, and guessed she had decided it was time for her to go back to sleep.

She was so special, and _so_ important to him. He was always going to be angry - maybe even hate himself - for not being able to protect her back when she was most vulnerable. Maybe that was _okay._

Maybe, no matter how incredibly powerful she was, Toph would always feel the effects of what had happened. Maybe even years from now, she would still have nightmares. That was okay, too.

Because no matter if the culprit was alive or dead, rotting in a jail cell or murdered by Sokka's hands, it _wouldn't_ have changed what he had done to her.

Toph was strong, but at times she could be made weak. _And that was okay_.

* * *

" _So_ ," Ty Lee purred, working some sort of voodoo magic on the blind girl's head as she spoke slyly, "What were you and Sokka up to last night, hm?"

Toph felt her face instinctually heat up.

"Oh, my goodness. _Ty Lee_!" Katara exclaimed loudly. "Would it kill you to mind your own business for once?"

The acrobat simply giggled. "I _mean_ , if you had walked in on me and, say, the Earth King wrapped up in a sleeping lover's embrace, wouldn't you have at least a few questions for me?"

Katara groaned. "Forgive her, Toph. She was _clearly_ raised without learning _manners."_

Ty Lee scoffed _._ "I'll have you know, Katara, that I was the daughter of a nobleman, and attended a set of very prestigious private schools where I was educated all throughout my upbringing." She pulled a _little_ tighter at the ends of Toph's hair, making the younger girl squirm where she sat.

" _And_!" Ty Lee continued, "When I was Toph's age, I already had a pretty lengthy list of admirers. I don't see any reason why she can't follow in my footsteps."

"Oh, geez," Katara moaned, suppressing a little laugh.

Ty Lee snapped the rubber band on her wrist, skillfully tying it around the end of Toph's dense braid. "Just call me Sifu Ty Lee." Toph stood up, then bowed mockingly.

"How do you like it, Toph?"

She just grinned. "Looks great."

* * *

"So, it's gonna go Aang and Katara first, and then you and me," Sokka whispered to her. She replied with a nod.

Toph felt a little bit funny. Lately, she had been plucked and displayed so often that it was beginning to feel almost… well... _normal._ That _wouldn't_ do - she had to get herself out of this princessy, glamorous lifestyle. She felt the need to get her hands dirty, regain the callouses that used to decorate her heels and palms. It didn't feel right always having a glossy mask over her face, her scalp pulled at so tightly she could pass out. It just wasn't _her._

"You look good, by the way," Sokka spoke, his voice a little louder this time. She responded by punched him in the shoulder. " _Ow_. Hey, I'm being serious."

Before she had a chance to either punch him in the mouth _or_ the groin, Sokka looped his arm into hers. "It's time," he leaned down and whispered, his breath brushing her ear. "Katara and Aang are about to go."

Like always, Toph listened to the earth. She felt her friend's definite footsteps, landing with soft vibrations each time they hit the ground and slowly trailing upwards to the altar where a figure - she assumed was Zuko - stood still.

Believe it or not, this was the first wedding Toph had _ever_ attended. She knew it was stupid, but there was a little prickle down in the pit of her stomach. What if she tripped over Mai's train? Or face-planted into the cake? The _horrible_ possibilities, the very feasible and realistic ways she could ruin the event, were endless.

"Now," Sokka whispered, taking a step forward.

She let him lead her by the arm, but wanted to make it clear she could _easily_ walk by herself. Mai followed closely behind them. Toph could only imagine that her own wealthy, upper-class family combined with Zuko's royal status had created _quite_ an extravagant wedding gown.

Once she and Sokka had assumed their proper positions right beside Katara and Aang, Toph quietly inquired, "Where is Ty Lee again?"

"She's next to Mai," Sokka replied. "It's a… maid of honor thing, I think?"

"Doesn't Mai look _so_ beautiful?" Katara's voice was drowning in raw emotions, she sounded as if she was about to cry.

Brought to tears by a _dress._ Toph was almost sad that she couldn't see it for herself.

"She looks, um…" Sokka paused for a minute, "...slightly less annoyed than usual."

When the ceremony began, everyone became very quiet. To Toph, it only intensified the sounds of a very tradition, boring speech being made by a very pompous sounding old man.

 _If I ever get married, I will do everything in my power to make sure_ _it definitely won't be this boring,_ Toph told herself. _Instead of walking down the aisle, we'll race! And instead of exchanging vows, we'll have a fight!_

There were a _lot_ of flames, a lot of torches being lit in celebration and fireworks decorating the sky. _I guess this is what the fire nation likes to do._ Toph could feel the heat and smell the smoke as the crowd _ooh_ ed and _ah_ ed over the lavish stunts. When Mai and Zuko began to recite their _I do_ 's, the mood suddenly shifted as if everyone had been attending a funeral in lieu of a wedding. Katara was downright _sobbing_ and burying her head into Aang's shoulder in order to muffle the noise. She could hear the Avatar himself sniffling in between breaths, and even Sokka's breathing seemed to become irregular.

 _Finally_ , the couple sealed their fate with just one of many kisses. The audience's cheers were _so_ loud that Toph moved to cover her ears - only to find herself tucked into Sokka's arms wrapped around the young girl in a hug.

"What's this for?" she asked as soon as he released her, feeling a _little_ fuzzy and warm.

"Just happy."

* * *

"Uncle?" Zuko asked, his voice incredulous and eyes wide as he gazed at the old man dressed in a fine suit and a huge grin on his face. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Ba Sing Se!"

"You think I would miss my own nephew's wedding?" Iroh chuckled, pulling the shell-shocked Zuko into a loving embrace. "You must be _crazy_ , Prince Zuko."

" _Fire Lord_ Zuko," Mai corrected, a smirk upon her face. She bowed to her elder as he laughed, holding his arms out to her as well. "You know there's no need for that. After all, we are family now!"

"This rice..." Toph's familiar voice pulled the warrior right out of his observations, and he turned over to where she was sitting across from him. "Is. So. Good. _Seriously_ , who is their caterer? I'm going to have to hire them."

"Hire them for what? Your funeral?" Sokka joked, resting his elbows on the table.

Toph just scoffed. "I'm _immortal_ , Snoozles. Maybe... I'll hire them for my wedding. Maybe _._ "

"Ooh, your wedding, huh? Who are you marrying?" Sokka sneakily stole a spoonful of rice off of her plate.

"I… don't know yet. I don't even know if I'm ever marrying _anyone._ That's why I said maybe, you dummy."

"Mm." The rice actually was pretty good. "Well, whenever this wedding of yours is - real _or_ fake, I better be invited."

Toph paused before speaking. "Only if I can come to yours."

"Of course. _If_ I have one."

She stuck her tongue out at him, then went right back to her meal. Hm _._ She looked a little pinker than she did before; maybe she had gotten sick again?

Sokka glanced out at the floor of the ballroom, where a vast amount of couples swayed and chatted to a slow melody echoing throughout the room. He even caught sight of Katara and Aang, laughing and smiling at each other like idiots. Ty Lee was leading some poor boy by the wrist, her mouth moving miles by the minute.

"Hey, Toph, you wanna dance?" Sokka asked suddenly, pivoting around to look back at her.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

"I asked if you wanted to dance."

"Yeah, I heard that, but _why_ would I want to dance with you when I can much more easily slit my throat?"

He laughed, taking her hand in his. "Because I'm your best friend? Come on, _one_ dance."

"Just one?"

"Just one."

The young girl sighed, standing up from her seat and allowing Sokka to escort her towards the dance floor. "You better at least find me the name of this caterer."

He led her to a little secluded spot near the edge of the floor, far enough away from all the couples that they could talk and dance privately without much interruption.

As Sokka glanced down at her, his eyes soaking in at her cute little face and petite frame, he suddenly began to fumble while wrapping his arms very tentatively around her waist. She was so small she only came up to his chest; it was a good thing he had long arms.

Toph had to stand on her tiptoes in order to loop her sleeved arms over his neck. He wondered if she could tell he was nervous, was his heart beating faster than normal?

As they awkwardly stood in this position, Sokka desperately tried to make some decent conversation. He sorted through his mind recklessly before blurting out, "I don't want to leave."

"What?" Toph asked.

"I mean..." he was too flustered. Sokka searched for a sentence where his words would make some kind of sense, then continued, "It gets lonely, you know? I think I'll go back home and visit my dad... Stay down there for a while. Katara and Aang, they have Avatar business. So they're no fun, you know? What do you think you're gonna do? I mean, after Zuko kicks us - ''

"Snoozles!" Toph interrupted him, letting her hands fall back down to her sides. He rubbed the cold area on his neck sheepishly. "What exactly do you _mean_ what am I gonna do?"

He stared at her, then answered _very_ slowly. "I mean, like… where are you gonna go?"

She dropped her head, clearly upset about something. Toph cleared her throat before saying, "Oh… I mean, I just thought…"

"Thought what?"

Toph raised her useless gaze, a slight blush gracing her cheeks. "What you said before, about us travelling together… I just thought you were serious, that's all."

It took a minute, then: oh. _Oh!_

Sokka lunged forward, grabbing onto her tiny shoulders rashly. "Toph!" the warrior cried out, watching as the surprise flickered across her face. "Of course I was serious! I just - I didn't think that _you_ wanted to!"

She laughed crudely, swatting his fingers away from her collarbones playfully. "Well, I _obviously_ want to… God, you're so dumb, Sokka. I can't believe you."

His hands dropped, a soft smile creeping across his lips as they chuckled together. "Yeah. You're right."

Toph lightly smacked him in the arm, beaming wildly. He rubbed the sore spot for a minute, and then reached an exploratory hand outwards to graze her shoulder.

The young girl's face was so full of wonder. Of curiosity. Sokka looked at her, _really_ looked at her - smiling as his eyes scanned over her the shapes and angles that made her look how she did, made her recognizable to him.

His hands drifted down to her wrist, gently cupping around the smooth joint before he ultimately found her hands. They were open, waiting for him. Sokka laced his fingers in between hers, noticing her palms were a little cold and hoping that he could warm them with his own.

His hands closed around hers, and a soft smile split across Toph's face.

* * *

 **In case you didn't catch that, Toph and Sokka will continue travelling together after the gaang all split their separate ways. Which means this story isn't over yet! Whoo!**

 **There will probably be a little delay between this chapter and the next, since I begin school very soon and getting them situated in their journey will be a little hectic, writing-wise. But, don't fear, I will never abandon this story because of how much I love this pair together!**

 **Though I love every single one of my readers dearly, I would like to personally thank zulfi for reviewing every single chapter and for following this story from the very beginning! Much love 3**

 **Have a great day.**


	11. Chapter 11

_My x-ray eyes see what you're trying to do to me_

 _My bionic ears hear what you're saying about me_

 _And I know that you're trouble._

* * *

Toph vomited violently over the side of the boat, wheezing and panting incessantly as she vaguely listened to the sound of her own puke hitting the crashing waves beneath the deck.

"Hey, Miss, are you - ''

"Fine!" the young earthbender exclaimed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She spun over her shoulder with her head held low, determined to avoid _any contact_ with this worker who had just watched her become seasick. How embarrassing!

The floorboards were unsteady and there was, to her utter dismay, _no_ earth packed underneath, translating into nowhere for her to see _anything_.

Toph sighed in defeat, before calling out, "Sokka!"

Of course, footsteps came sprinting over as soon as the word left her mouth. The big idiot instinctively looped his arm through hers, allowing the smaller girl to lean onto him as he wordlessly led her insecure legs down the ship.

"How do I look?" she asked, swallowing another heap of vomit as she felt the forceful swaying of the ship.

"Queasy. Are you going to throw up again?"

"Maybe. Can we sit down?" Sokka naturally obliged, easing his friend to sit down, propping her spine up against the wall. The water tribesman sat down next to her, _just_ close enough that their shoulders grazed each time she rocked her head back and forth between her knees.

It wasn't really a secret that Toph liked earth. She _loved_ feeling dirt between her toes, bouncing off a solid rock, anywhere there was steady ground aiding her feet's eyes was somewhere she could call home.

So _why_ , in the name of everything good and holy, did Zuko insist on paying for a _boat_ to escort them back to land?

Once she and Sokka had announced to everyone that they would be travelling as a pair for an indistinct amount of time, gifts were literally being dropped on them from the sky. Ty Lee presented them a coupon to some spa in Ba Sing Se. Zuko offered to provide them various hardworking servants stationed for 'every city in the world' - ("You're the Fire Lord, not Queen of the Universe." Toph had scoffed, making the young man scowl in disagreement.), Mai had gifted them a _colossal_ amount of money for their journey, claiming she didn't have anything better to do with it.

Katara and Aang urged them to lie low _-_ and then proceeded to shower the two travellers with an assortment of fine robes and dress clothes to assist them in this mission.

Toph was wearing one of these very robes as the pair swayed back on forth on the stupid ship. The cloth was _so_ itchy and tight-fitting that she would much rather have rather been naked, but Sokka had promised her that they would get rid of all the extravagant clothing as _soon_ as they docked.

"Are you feeling better?" Meathead's voice lulled her outside of her mind.

"No," Toph replied, clutching her stomach. "Why would I be?"

She felt him shrug his shoulders nonchalantly beside her. "You haven't thrown up for a solid three minutes." Toph _would have_ been eager to punch him in the shoulder, but was presently feeling too weak to do anything.

"Are you allergic to anything?" she asked.

"Um, sesame. Why?"

"Just to know what we should get to eat once we get to Ba Sing Se."

He rolled his eyes as she began to gag again.

* * *

"I _hate_ being sick," Toph grumbled bitterly, stomping her right foot into the ship's wooden floorboards for emphasis. "More than anything, I - _ow_!"

"What? What's wrong?" Sokka was clutching her arm in an instant, examining the young girl's expression of discomfort and then trailing his eyes down her body to search for the cause.

"Ow, _ow_. My foot, there's something…" Toph's face was pained, making Sokka's heart race in concern for his friend. He crawled over towards her feet, gently flexing them and scanning over the pale, fleshy exterior before spotting a _tiny but deadly_ lone splinter of wood sitting lodged shallowly inside her skin.

"Did you find it? Is it an animal?" Toph asked, curling her toes uneasily.

"Uh, close. It's a splinter."

Sokka wasn't going to lie. He was a little bit unimpressed with Toph's lack of ability to handle this kind of pain. Splinters had never made him cry out in agony, or even ever really hurt that much at all. Out of curiosity, he inquired, "Toph, have you ever had a bee sting?"

"What? No." She wiggled in her position, scowling. "What does _that_ have to do anything?"

 _Oh, poor, precious, sheltered Toph,_ Sokka sighed, cringing as he was met with cruel, vivid memories of the _Flying Demon_ attacking both him and Katara on various occasions filling his mind. They were lucky to be alive. "I'm going to pull it out now, okay?"

Toph looked panicked. "Wait!"

"What?"

"Is it gonna hurt?"

In response, he pulled the splinter right out and threw it over deck.

"Hey! Meathead! I asked if it was gonna hurt!"

" _Relax_ , I already took it out," Sokka reported, a soft smile emerging as he gazed down at the young girl. Redness split across her cheeks, arching from the bridge of her nose and stretching out towards her cheekbones..

"Well, you _could_ have told me that!" she spoke very defensively, turning her face away from him and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sorry," Sokka grinned. "Slipped my mind."

* * *

"If we get another Joo Dee, I honestly might have to bury myself in an underground tunnel for the rest of my life." Toph said as she walked leisurely beside her best friend, a generous worker from their ship happily escorting their bags down the unloading dock.

"Thank you, sir," Sokka praised the man warmly, handing him a large tip. "Your service is _greatly_ appreciated." The working man bowed low to both of the travellers before scurrying back onto the boat.

"Sweet land," Toph sighed dreamily, grabbing her bag from off the ground and she rolled her toes around in the dirt. "So, what's our game plan, Snoozles?"

Sokka swiftly unrolled the map he swiped from his backpack, eyes skimming through the different marks and sketches until he eventually found the correct trail to Ba Sing Se. "If we start walking now and keep heading north, we should reach the train station that goes through the wall in about an hour or two."

"Sounds good," the earthbender nodded. "Want me to carry your bag for you?"

"Shush, you."

"No, I'm serious." Her voice dropped a pitch below her normal playful tone. "Your shoulder's been hurting you, hasn't it?"

Sokka stared straight ahead, trying his best to avoid letting any _super_ secretive information loose from his lips. "I'm fine, Toph. Katara said it's just a stress fracture."

She wouldn't budge. " _So_ that means that you should rest."

"No."

"Yes."

" _No_."

" _Yes_."

" _No._ I don't want you overexerting yourself, Barfy."

"Yeah, well, same goes for you, _Snoozles_."

Sokka skillfully swiped Toph's own bag out of her hands and slung it over his shoulder where it sat out of her reach.

"That's not fair!" she instantly complained, swatting relentlessly at his elbows.

"Life's not fair, shortie _._ Now, if you want us to make it to Ba Sing Se before another war starts, you better hurry up." Sokka knew he was being unfair, but was it _really_ his fault if he didn't want to see her hurt anymore?

"I hate you so much," Toph grumbled, her feet finally beginning to shuffle forward. Sokka just grinned and tightened the bags slewn over his shoulders.

* * *

"What's your favorite fruit?" the warrior asked his companion, glancing down at her small form trudging along the land.

"Banana."

"Instrument?"

"Piano."

"Color?"

"Okay," Toph stuck her hand in front of his face, effectively halting the older boy. "These questions started out stupid, but now they're just downright _moronic_. It's my turn, Meathead."

Sokka shrugged, continuing to walk down the path leisurely. "Shoot."

"If you could bend any element, what would it be?"

He slowly raised his hand to his chin in a pondering manner as he lulled over the inquiry. After a moment of thinking, he said, "Probably... air."

She shook her head. "Nope. Wrong answer."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I meant earth."

Her face instantly lightened up. "Better. What's _your_ favorite color?"

"Hm… probably white."

Toph furrowed her eyebrows. "White is… the absence of color. That's cheating!"

It was actually quite funny when Toph got angry, because she was so small and delicate-looking that no stranger would _ever_ imagine she could even swat a fly and cause any damage. The tribesman couldn't help but let a chuckle slip out of his mouth as he gazed at her raging form.

" _What_? What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he said,. "You just look... really cute like that."

Toph's lips fell into an 'o' shape, and then tightened into a straight line. She didn't have a reply for that kind of compliment towards her appearance, it seemed.

"What? It's true."

She awkwardly turned away from him, effectively ending their conversation on a shrewd note and leaving Sokka with a headache as he leafed over what _exactly_ he had said that was wrong.

* * *

 _I hate him,_ the young earthbender told herself, clenching her fists at her side. _I hate him so much!_

The only problem was that no matter how times she repeated these phrases in various forms and different levels of anger, the message just wouldn't sink in all the way. The real, honest truth was _so_ much harder to handle; she couldn't ignore the boiling underneath her skin when he held her hand or the noise of her fluttering heartbeat whenever they spoke.

It wasn't like anything had changed, really. Honestly, she _always_ had a crush on him, ever since the first few days they began travelling together as a team. Only back then she buried it the same way she buried everything else, only much, _much_ deeper.

After a while, she had begrudgingly adapted. Toph could numb her affections for as long as she liked, but when night crept in and she slept alone in her little earth tent the systematic aching of her heart would keep her up.

He had _never_ broken her heart, but there were bruises and tears all over it - none of them even his fault specifically. Her chest tightened when he talked about Yue, when he was with Suki, when he was flustered around Ty Lee the first few times. These words, these reactions didn't _mean_ any harm but they invaded her mind like a venom and poisoned all of her thoughts, succesfully souring her mood.

It was apparent now, more than ever, that she had not thought this trip through well enough at all. How could she live with him - _just_ him? How could she be comfortable with the fact he would never like her like that, that she was only his friend?

She used to accept it. She would never move on, and she could _never_ forget, but she was prepared to live her own life beside him with the title of his best friend while he raised his family and kissed his wife, forever leaving her on the outside looking in.

Only now there was no wife to be seen, and the very slight femininity layered deep inside of Toph did nothing but fill her with delusions that _it could be her_ every time she even _attempted_ to drift off into sleep.

She had to act normal. She had to support him - maybe even find him a girlfriend. She wanted him to be _happy..._

"Toph?" his voice snapped her out of her thoughts, making her quietly grunt in mild annoyance. "Yeah?"

"You're being quiet."

The blind girl laughed bitterly. "Thank you, Captain Obvious." _Yes! Distraction! Now I can get my mind off of..._

He didn't seem to be in a very funny mood all of a sudden. "No, seriously. You know you can tell me if anything's wrong."

Everything came flying back at her - just like a stupid boomerang.

He was so caring, so sweet, so _stupid,_ so _annoying…_

She absolutely hated him! Everything about him made her _swoon -_ it was nauseating! She would throw up all over him if she didn't like him so much.

Her mouth tipped open, ready to curse him out for being such a perfect asshole. Ready to insult him, to punch him, to ask him to hug her or to hold her hand.

So she said, "Thanks."

* * *

 **Yes, this chapter is just conversation and set up for the next chapters. Forgive me.**

 **This might be a little confusing, but everything makes sense in my head. Every new area they come across is kind of like a new arc, and every new arc will have a new song! So, the new song is Secret Identity by Wayna :)**

 **The purpose of the songs is really just because I like to listen to certain music as I write, and I feel the lyrics can pertain to the story.**

 **Also, I have decided that this story won't be canon to the comics or LOK, _only_ TLA.**

 **As always, thank you for your continued support and feedback on this story!**

 **Have a great day.**


	12. Chapter 12

_Well, what if you were the one who had been duped to believe_

 _That I was just some pretty girl, young and naive?_

* * *

Sokka took in the view of their quaint, charming little condo - paid for completely by the ever-courteous Fire Lord. There was a nice living room adjoined with a dining room, all connected to an open view of a rather small kitchen.

Neither of them knew how to cook anyway, so it wasn't like they would use it all that often. Honestly, they didn't even know how long they were _staying_ there.

There was a bathroom fixed with a large vanity and then one sizeable bedroom fitted with two single beds, complete with fluffy blankets and pillows.

Sokka couldn't _help_ but feel a little sad that he and Toph wouldn't be sharing a bed anymore, no matter how strange it sounded. He liked feeling her there, nestled into the crook of his neck, alive and well and _with him_ every time he woke.

By the time they had arrived at the guest home, the sun had already set - and Sokka was actually feeling _quite_ fatigued just solely from the journey there to Ba Sing Se. He sat on a comfy couch, feeling the breeze from the open window adjacent to the wall their furniture stood propped against lulling him into sleep, pulling and grasping at his eyelids restlessly and he sunk deeper into the soft fabric.

 _Stop. No. Stay awake._ He _had_ to stay awake - for Toph! He needed her to be asleep and okay - one hundred percent okay before he even thought of closing his own eyes.

"Toph?" Sokka had to admit his voice sounded funny, and a little dumb; muffled by drowsiness and dripping in vulnerability. He could only pray that she was _just_ as drowsy and _just_ as vulnerable...

"Yeah?"

 _Shit._ She didn't sound tired at all!

Sokka began to panic. He had to find something to distract himself, something to pull him out of his haziness and rouse him up before he fell asleep!

"What's your favorite thing about earthbending?" the tribesman ultimately decided on a _question_ , because it lightened up all kinds of conversations, let the other person know you were interested in them, let you find out more about them, and -

"Seeing." she replied bluntly, effectively knocking the conversation back onto its knees. "What's your favorite thing about _not_ bending?"

"Seeing." he responded mockingly.

She laughed, and punched him in the shoulder warmly. "Shut up, Snoozles."

Instead of recoiling from her attack, Sokka nestled into it. His body followed her fist's trail looping back to her arm naturally, and leaned his tired head on top of her shoulder.

The warrior let out a loud yawn. "Hey, why do you call me Snoozles again? I can't remember anymore."

"Because you're a grumpy sleeper. Like, right now."

"I'm not sleeping," Sokka nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck comfortably. "And I'm not grumpy either."

In the risen, waking part of his mind, the warrior was wondering _why_ exactly he had decided to use his best friend as a pillow. Considering Toph was a good foot and a half shorter than him and his weight likely doubled hers, the logic was all wrong. It didn't make sense that _he_ was leaning on _her,_ but as he pondered over it he discovered that was the way it had always been.

Sokka could feel his thoughts slurring, but was too prideful to admit he wanted sleep. "Wha d'you wanna talk abou?" he inquired, too unwilling to abandon their conversation for restfulness.

"Nothing." Toph responded. "You should go to sleep."

"Naw tired."

Toph laughed, and began to comb through his hair with her slender fingers. "Mmhmm. Liar."

"Ca' sleep." the water tribe teenager declared, another unwarranted yawn ripping through his words recklessly.

"Why not?" she asked.

He exhaled into her touch as her palm caressed his scalp smoothingly. "Just gotta… gotta ma' sure you're okay first."

She stopped brushing his hair for a minute, as if surprised, and then continued as if nothing had ever happened. But even in his disoriented, drowsy state, Sokka could feel the tension in her bones and the locking of her ligaments as she stiffened, and suspected the brief confusion and discomfort that had rolled through her body.

Toph sighed, her body relaxing, and then said, "I'm fine, Sokka."

He opened his eyes to look at her, finding the sight familiar even as blurry and distorted as it was. "Promise?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, then eased her face and smiled. "Promise."

* * *

His companion sat cross-legged on the ground, a bored expression plastered across her endearing face as she stared at nothing in particular.

"So? What do we do now?"

"Hm," Sokka wondered out loud, gazing up at the ceiling. "Maybe we could…. Get something to eat?"

"I'm not hungry."

His stomach growled perfectly on time. He glanced over at his friend, a pleading look in his eyes even though he was aware that she couldn't see. Her cheek twitched in guilt, her face adopting a scowl. " _Pwease_?" Sokka squeaked out pathetically, using a baby voice on purpose.

"Ugh, fine." She opted to slowly collect herself off the ground while he sprang up like a rubber ball, feeling giddy as the possibility of food. "What do you feel like chowing down on, Toph? Noodles? Rice? Meat?"

"How about all of the above?" the earthbender said, opening their front door and slipping out of it as Sokka followed behind.

"Hm, that's funny," he said. "I thought you said you weren't hungry."

"I'm always hungry."

"Do you have a favorite restaurant?" he inquired, genuinely curious.

"I don't think I've _been_ to enough restaurants to have a favorite," Toph explained, continuing down the path with ease, her elaborate robes lightly grazing the dirty ground. He would have warned her, but was almost certain that she didn't care that much about it.

Sokka eyed a few merchants on the outskirts of pathways, harassing families and teenage girls until they bought their products. "Let me know if you see anything you want."

"Will do," Toph replied sarcastically, her gaze unwavering.

The longer they explored the streets, the more Sokka questioned if restaurants were even _in_ this stupid city at all. The only thing his eyes ever landed on were shopping centers, tea shops, spas...

He stopped and blinked. Spa. _Spa._ Something about a spa…

"Toph!" the warrior suddenly exclaimed, leaping forward and attaching himself onto her shoulder as she cried out. "Ah!"

Toph flinched at the contact, slapping his hand off her in irritation. "What?"

"Let's have a spa day!" Sokka shouted, his enthusiasm resolute.

The blind girl blinked, then frowned. "Sokka, I'm going to be honest with you. Everytime I think, 'Oh, there's no way he can say someone stupider than that.' you manage to prove me wrong. Every single time."

"No, no, _listen_ to me..." He was very determined. "I want you to relax! Seriously. And didn't Ty Lee give you a coupon anyway? Wouldn't it be a waste if we didn't use it?"An even deeper scowl spread across her face as the realization hit her, right between the eyes. _Ha._

 _Gotcha!_ Sokka thought gleefully. "Now, come on, let's get massages and then- ''

" _Wait_." Toph held a single palm in the air.

"Yes?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. " _You're_ coming too?"

"Um, duh. Didn't I say _we,_ like, ten times?"

Toph became very flustered then; she wouldn't say anything at all and she turned all red in the face for a few seconds.

"Can we at least get separate rooms?"

* * *

The answer was _no_.

Sokka and Toph were treated to a _couple's massage,_ which was basically just the two of them in a room with their masseuses. Nobody really said anything the whole time, which made things a little awkward. The only noteworthy events were that Sokka's masseuse commented on the strained muscles in his spine and and Toph fell asleep halfway through the procedure.

He really had _no_ idea why she had become so embarrassed earlier. He'd seen her in a towel plenty of times, as well as bathing suits, pajamas… Everything, really. So what was the big deal?  
Only, he didn't let it bother him. Toph had been through a _lot_ , it wasn't like he was going to crucify her for becoming a little bit more guarded.

The woman working at the front desk had a pleasant smile and appointed them to a casual restaurant a little bit down the street. All of Ba Sing Se's citizens seemed to think that they were some kind of wealthy royal folks or something, and though it confused him on why _he_ could be mistaken as an entrepreneur he knew that Toph had the looks for that kind of thing. The only thing that threw her disguise off was the sloppy braid he had crafted for her while on the ship; in his defense, she had been throwing up and moving around quite a bit which made it very difficult to handle her hair. His companion had also slept in it, resulting in a bit of a tangled knot on the back of her head.

"Hold still for a second," Sokka ordered, quickly positioning himself behind the small girl. He quickly fixed her long braid into a loose bun, easily securing it with a rubber band. "Okay, keep walking."

"What was that?" she asked him suspiciously, her hand grasping at the nape of her neck.

He slapped her hand away. "Don't touch it. I made a bun."

"Oh, God," Toph groaned. "Now I'm _glad_ I can't see."

"Rude." Sokka remarked, opening the front door of the restaurant and allowing Toph to pass through before he followed closely behind. She marched up to the front desk, standing on her tippy toes and requesting, "Table for two, please."

The hostess stood, alarmed from their sudden intrusion with pursed lips. "We're very busy right now, Miss, the wait time would be approximately - ''

Wordlessly, Toph slipped a hand into the front pocket of her clothing and reappeared with her family seal; a flying boar. The woman's eyes widened drastically and she quickly grabbed two menus from behind her counter. "This way, please!"

The hostess bowed to them both about a million times as she took their drink requests and orders, which amused Sokka profusely but definitely seemed to pester Toph. As the woman gave one last bow and then sprinted off to the kitchen, the Toph rolled her eyes - at least, as best as she could.

"How annoying," she groaned, resting her chin on her open palm. "I hate when people fall all over themselves for my stupid family."

"Well, you're the one that pulled out the seal thingy," Sokka pointed out, poking her in the nose with his index finger. Toph crinkled her face in retaliation, and said,"Yeah, that's true. I guess being Earth Kingdom royalty _does_ have its perks."

Sokka grinned, pushing her cheeks together with his hands. "Of _course_ , Princess Toph."

"Ew. Ew." she shook her head back and forth, making a gagging sound as she stood up from her seat. "I'm going to go to the bathroom."

"Don't fall in." Sokka advised. She shot him a dirty look as she disappeared into the crowd, seamlessly sorting through the masses of servers and tables as if she had x-ray vision.

He laughed, then turned his attention to the clear glass of water fixed in front of him. What had he ordered again?

"Hey. Hey, you." the warrior turned over his shoulder, and saw a group of boys perhaps a little younger than him, but still older than Toph gathered at the table to his right. It was a rather large group as well, perhaps ten or twelve boys all sitting, all staring right at him a little eerily.

"Um," Sokka admittedly felt rather uncomfortable underneath their gazes. "Yeah?"

The anonymous voice found a face in one of the older boys, a dark-skinned young man with a green headband tied around his forehead. "Was that your girl?"

Sokka blinked. "You mean Toph? My… girl?"

"Girl. Girlfriend. You know. Whatever you wanna call it. She yours?" the boy cracked a smile, though a rather lecherous looking one with his teeth bared and all.

"Oh, um, no. She's just a friend," Sokka smiled back, discomfort still writhing in his stomach. "Why do you ask?"

Another boy began to speak, this one younger-looking with reddish hair and a freckled complexion. "Are you guys not from around here? 'Cause we don't see a lot of girls like that over here, that's for sure."

"No, we're travelling together." Sokka found himself feeling a little defensive, and his eyes narrowed naturally. "Girls like what?"

This was weird. These guys were weird. His stomach turned every time they spoke.

"Travelling together, huh?" the reddish boy raised an eyebrow, with the same oafish grin as the first boy. His friends soon began to adopt the same expression; was it contagious? "She's not a virgin then?"

Sokka's mouth went agape, his tongue drying and practically turning solid inside his throat. He hardly managed to sputter out, "She - I - _what_?"

The first boy spoke again. "I mean, you go travelling with a girl or whatever, she's gonna give it to you, right? A little _appreciation_ , huh?"

"Wha - I don't…" Sokka's thoughts were flying around in his mind. "Stop talking about her like that!" Sokka had found himself hollering, his voice raspy and raging.

Another boy laughed. "Maybe someone else got to her first."

He couldn't _believe_ this. These people, who didn't even know Toph, talking about her like this. Talking about her _doing_ things! "Shut... shut up!" Sokka roared, only endorsing more laughter.

"Damn, that's a shame," the first boy clucked his tongue, the ugly, sleazy smile still plastered across his stupid face. "She must be good to get you so mad."

"Shut up! Shut! Up! Stop talking about her like that! You have no…" Sokka licked his lips, swiftly moistening the dry flesh. "No right to talk like that! So why don't you just go and shove a goddamn cactus up your - ''

The warrior stopped as felt a soft hand brush his shoulder blade hesitantly. "Sokka?" Toph's voice spoke, concern threaded deeply into her tone. "What's going on?"

"If it isn't the lady of the hour," the first boy winked at her. "How do you do, lovely?"

"Fine," Toph replied smoothly, her expression unwavering from his comment as Sokka's blood _boiled_. He stood from his seat, knocking the chair backwards, and grabbed onto his friend's small wrist. "Come on, Toph, we're _leaving_."

"What?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows as he pulled her along. "What happened? Why are you so mad?"

Sokka wouldn't answer, couldn't keep his breathing under control, only kept pulling and tugging until they stood in front of the restaurant and she squeaked, while trying to wriggle out of his grasp, "Sokka, stop, you're hurting me."

He released her, only his hand didn't feel any different. Rage filled his body and flooded his fingertips, leaving an angry mark on everything he touched.

"What was that all about?" Toph interrogated him, standing underneath his chin. "What's your problem?"

She was angry, he could tell. "Toph, you don't understand. They were bad, they were - ''

"Who's they?" she interrupted him brashly. "Those guys?"

"Yeah, them. They were _terrible_ , they could have hurt you - ''

Toph snorted. "I'm fine."

He grabbed her by the shoulders, gruffly getting a hold of her. "For _now_ , you are! But what about if we had stayed? What about if they asked where we lived? What about..." Too many different scenarios flashed through his mind, back to back and relentlessly taunting him.

Toph make a strained expression, swatting at Sokka's hands until he released her. "Right now, _you're_ the only one that's hurting me. You're being too rough 'cause you're angry - for whatever dumb reason, and I don't like it, okay?"

His eyes grew wide as he listened to her words, his hands falling to his sides. He was hurting her - _he_ was hurting _her..._ He had just been trying to protect her, to keep her safe, and he ended up throwing her around like a ragdoll!

"I…" her face remained blank as he gently took hold of the hand he had squeezed just a _little_ too tight earlier. "I'm so sorry." Sokka's voice hardly reached a whisper. He brought her hand closer to him, and delicately touched his lips to the muted skin in apology. "So, _so_ sorry."

As he freed her hand, she developed a dismal expression and slid her arms around him in a warm embrace.

"It's okay," Toph told him, letting him go and standing on her tiptoes to ruffle his ponytail teasingly. "Just don't do it again."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." He agreed, ecstatic to have his friend back. They smiled at the same time, and Sokka reached his hand back out into the air hesitantly. Almost by instinct, she laced her finger tips with his, and neither of them said a word as they walked all the way home.

* * *

 **So this was the first chapter completely from Sokka's point of view! Don't worry, we'll see more of Toph's perspective next chapter.**

 **Yeah, Sokka is a little bit overprotective nowadays. Ha.**

 **Thank you so much for your support in this story so far! I appreciate it more than words can say.**

 **Have a great day.**


	13. Chapter 13

_I've got a voice in my head that says you're coming around_

 _It's like a bell around your neck that rings_

 _Hold up, look out_

* * *

"Now that we're shopping," Toph held up an oversized t-shirt, "Can we please ditch these robes? They're giving me a rash, seriously."

"I kind of like the robes," Sokka admitted, rattling through a rack of casual clothes himself. "I think they look nice on us."

"Well, they _feel_ terrible," the young girl said with a scowl, moving over to the jewelry and gingerly beginning to leaf through the numerous rings, bracelets, and earring coming in various shapes and sizes.

Sokka was a little surprised. "You like jewelry now?"

"It's okay," she murmured, looking somewhat embarrassed. How long had he been gone?

"Let me see your hand for a second," the tribesman said, walking over to his friend with a serious expression on his face. She naturally obliged, holding out her left hand for him to examine. He paused for a minute, running his fingers over her own, before his hand disappeared into the pocket of his trousers and then slid _it_ onto her ring finger.

"What was that?"

"Well…" Sokka laughed a little nervously. "You know how I, like, proposed to Suki?"

"Um, yes."

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I mean, I spent a lot of money on the ring and everything. I want to give it to someone I care about."

"Someone you care about." Toph repeated blankly, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yeah," Sokka said, "Like you."

She didn't really say anything. Her blind gaze remained fixed on nothing at all as she gently fingered the piece of jewelry resting on her skin.

"Snoozles," she finally spoke, punching him in the chest. "I literally hate you."

The warrior rubbed his sore flesh. "Ow. What?"

"Why would you give this thing to _me_ ," Toph pointed her thumb at herself, the other hand resting on her hip. "When you could just wait until you get another girlfriend, and then propose to her with it?"

"Because I want you to have it," he explained.

"Why me?"

"Because you're my friend."

"What about your next _girlf_ \- ''

"I'll think about that when - _if_ the time comes, okay? But for now, I want you to have it, please?" Sokka pleaded with his friend, pouting his lips and widening his eyes.

She snorted. "You know I can't see your stupid, probably-ugly face."

"I'm a handsome young man."

Toph cackled wickedly. "Yeah, so, anyways. Listen, Meathead, I'll hang onto your little ring for _now_ , just because I know if I let you get your hands on it you'll probably flush it down a toilet or something."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Oh, thank you, Sifu Toph."

"Is this a nice ring?" Toph asked, ignoring his obviously-sarcastic comment. "It feels expensive."

"It's…" Sokka thought for a moment. "Shiny."

"What does that even mean?"

"Shiny is, like, when light reflects off of something," the tribesman explained.

Toph furrowed her eyebrows."What does light look like? People say it's pretty."

"Light is kind of like… when you get punched in the face, but as a color."

The young earthbender furrowed her eyebrows. "That doesn't _sound_ pretty."

"It's pretty, I promise you. Only, you can't look at it for a very long time or else you'll go blind." Sokka explained.

She scoffed. " _Oh, no_."

Sokka chuckled, ignoring her comment. " _Okay_ , shut up. Anyway, do you want to just buy the clothes and then get something to eat? I'm kinda hungry."

"I don't even remember where I put the clothes I picked out." Toph admitted.

"Don't worry," he assured her, taking a gentle hold of her small hand as he began to slither through the various racks expertly. "I'll find them for you."

* * *

The two were now dressed in much more casual clothes, and thus no longer the center of attention among the buzzing streets of Ba Sing Se. Still holding hands, Sokka kept one eye on the flashy signs of restaurants and cafés and the other fixed on Toph next to him, just to make sure his companion wasn't being trampled by ants or something.

"What do you feel like, Toph?" the warrior inquired as he continued walking.

"Food."

"Yeah, okay." he rolled his eyes. "But what kind?"

"I don't really care," the young girl replied blankly, emitting a sigh from Sokka. She squeezed his hand and hollered, "Hey, stop that!"

"Stop what?" Sokka asked, a little confused.

"Spitting on me!" she dropped her hands to her sides, then propped one up on her waist in irritation..

He blinked, then let a sigh release from his lips. "Toph, why on earth would I be spitting on you?"

He _really_ didn't understand why she was playing such a useless prank on him, only then he actually started to feel it too. The gentle pattering of water splashing against his bare arms was almost impossible to ignore after a moment. Sokka glanced up and felt a raindrop land directly in his eye, yanking a yelp out of him.

"It's just rain, but let's get inside somewhere quick. I don't want you getting sick." the young man grabbed her shoulder and began to pull her along behind him while searching for shelter.

"You _know,_ you don't have to worry about me," Toph reminded him while darting inside a shop just as the rain intensified, transforming into a downpour within seconds.

Sokka ignored his friend, instead pressing his hands around the ponytail atop his head and letting the water drip out of it. He did the same to the end of his companion's braid, only messing it up a _little_ in the process. As he raised his head and took in the sight of the room, he realized that 1) the shop wasn't very busy and 2) there didn't seem to be any food there.

The only customers presents were a few old men playing Pai Sho with a _very_ unusual amount of enthusiasm, sipping at large mugs of steaming tea every so often as they pondered over moves. The smell within the walls was a rather pleasant aroma, and it was very warm inside compared to the chilly air they had previously been coated in.

"What kind of tea do you want?" he asked Toph, sliding his hand into the back pocket of his trousers and returning with his wallet.

"Chicken," she replied, rubbing her hands along her arms palliatively.

He rolled his eyes. "Try again."

"Beef."

"No."

"Fish."

" _Toph._ "

"Can't you take a hint?" she grumbled in irritation. "I'm _hungry_."

"So am I," Sokka said, "But we have to wait."

"Okay, and why is that, O Wise and Genius Sokka?"

"Your sarcasm is noted, and _not_ appreciated. We shouldn't go back out until it stops raining. It's cold and I don't want _either_ of us getting sick." he explained, cocking an eyebrow as he examined her face carefully for a reaction.

A frown split across his young friend's lips. "It's just rain."

" _Just_ rain? That could be _acid_ out there, Toph." Sokka knew that he was being unreasonable, but this was more for his sake than hers at this point. "At _least_ have a cup of tea before we go back out, okay? Please?"

"Sure, whatever," she waved her hand nonchalantly. "Jasmine."

Sokka marched up to the register, Toph following closely behind him, and rifled through his wallet as he spoke to the cashier. "One lavender and one jasmine, please."

As he lifted his hand to present his cash, head still hung low as he tucked his wallet away, a rather strong hand pushed his knuckles backwards. A familiar voice said, "No charge for an old friend."

Sokka raised his head in surprise, and then smiled as his eyes drew in the compassionate sight of Zuko's uncle Iroh. The old man stood proudly in an apron that had the words _The Jasmine Dragon_ written across it, very professionally and all.

"Iroh?" Toph asked, seeming to have recognized the voice and looking a little confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Ever since Zuko and I stayed in Ba Sing Se, I have owned this shop. It's how I make my living, I guess you could say." Iroh explained, turning his back to the pair in order to begin preparing their tea. "What about you two? Last time I saw, you were attending my nephew's wedding back on the island."

"We're travelling together," Sokka supplied. "Though, I'm not sure how long we'll be staying in Ba Sing Se."

"Mm. It is a beautiful city," Iroh spoke wistfully, pouring water into the kettle with a steady hand.

Under her breath, Toph murmured, "For tourists, maybe."

" _Shhh._ " Sokka scolded her quietly, turning to the young girl beside him. She stuck her tongue out at him in reply.

After hearing no response from the pair, the old man raised his voice once again and said, "Well, anyway, you two are welcome here anytime you would like. Free of charge. I can also teach you how to play Pai Sho, if you'd like."

"I bet I can beat you in Pai Sho." Toph said to the water tribe boy.

"What is that, a challenge?" Sokka raised one eyebrow, folding his arms over his chest as he stared down at the young girl.

Iroh smiled warmly. "I will prepare your tea, and then teach you both how to play."

* * *

Toph was trying as hard as she could to listen to Iroh's words, to feel the pieces with her fingers, and to really _pay attention_ , but _something_ was distracting her.

Something with a stupid ponytail and a knack for being an idiot, that was slurping its tea _way_ too loudly across the room. _Didn't anyone ever teach him any manners back on his little block of ice?_ she thought with a twinge of annoyance.

"Miss Beifong? It is your turn now," Iroh's voice drew her out of her daydream, and a blush fluttered over the blind girl's cheeks as she realized that she _really_ didn't know what to do.

A sigh retracted from her lips, drawing her shoulders down as she exhaled rather loudly. Iroh took notice - of course, being the wise old man that he was, and carefully articulated, "Is everything okay, my young friend?"

"Physically, yes." Toph said, resting her chin on the table in front of her. "Mentally, no."

"What seems to be troubling you?"

She sucked in a deep and heavy breath. Here rested a golden opportunity to pit her dumb, meaningless worries onto someone else, and what better person to confide in than Iroh?

"I think… that... _I'minlove_." Toph mashed all her words together, suddenly unable to form coherent sentences both inside her brain and in the air.

"You're... in love?" Iroh repeated quietly.

"No!" the earthbender suddenly exclaimed, pounding a fist onto the table and rattling the Pai Sho pieces. She paused as she felt the shop's heads turn in her direction, judging her for a mere second, then withdrawing back into their designated shells. She lowered her voice as well as her head. "I just… have a crush, okay?"

"I see," Iroh said wistfully, a thoughtful tone adapting to his voice. "Is this person someone that I know?"

"Yes. No." Toph responded as a bead of sweat dripped down her temple.

"Mmhmm, I see. And you seek my advice on this - a lonely old man?" Iroh stroked his beard. "Why not ask my nephew? He has much more luck in romance, after all."

By this point, Toph was getting incredibly anxious. She kept wriggling around in her seat, and there was a certain waft of amusement coming from Iroh, like he was enjoying making her so uncomfortable with all this disgusting talk about love. Or maybe it was just to pass the time. Maybe she would throw up all over the stupid board game, and then Sokka would take care of her when they got home and -

Toph grunted inwardly, desperation crawling out of her throat and grabbing Iroh by the shoulders. " _Please,_ you have to help me. I - I don't know what to do!"

Iroh thought for a moment, then said, "I think you should kiss him."

The young girl practically passed out, but recollected herself quickly. "If you weren't old, I would punch you right now."

"I'm only half-joking." the old man said with a chuckle. "But, honestly, I think if your feelings towards this mysterious man are that strong, you will need to act fast."

"I've been thinking that... maybe I should kill him." Toph spoke casually.

Iroh spit out his tea in surprise. " _What_?"

"Kidding, kidding." Toph reassured him, holding her hands up defensively. _Kind of._

"Toph?" Sokka's voice rang out, emitting both a pang of defeat as well as a beacon of hope inside of her chest. "I think maybe we should leave now, before it gets too cold out."

"Yes, Mom." the earthbender replied mockingly, standing up from her seat across from Iroh. She turned her back to Sokka and held a finger to her lips until she heard the old man quietly chuckle and then respond, "Zipped shut."

* * *

As soon as they exited the shop, Toph's hardened exterior cracked and she began to cling to her friend. Sokka removed an arm from his jacket and held her close to his side, keeping the both of them wrapped inside of the comfortable fabric.

Yet, she was still shivering. "Snoozles, can I tell you something?"

"Of course," he replied thoughtlessly, navigating through the dark, wet streets as well as he could under the circumstances.

"The rain… kinda messes me up." Toph admitted sheepishly.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"It's like…" the small girl paused. "There are too many vibrations everywhere, you know? It's like, sensory overload! And then I can't see where I'm going."

"Well, that's why I'm here." Sokka smoothly delivered his line, a funny grin appearing on his face. "To protect _you_."

Toph groaned. "Please don't ever say that again."

"You don't think I should write that on my next Valentine's Day card? Personally, I thought it was a pretty good one," he joked, elbowing her in the side playfully. To his complete surprise, she actually fell over. Toph landed softly in a puddle, spraying a mist onto Sokka as debris from her fall.

Sokka immediately bent down to the ground, assisting his friend out of the rather dirty street water. He tripped over his own words, apologies spilling out from between his lips at an incredibly fast pace.

" _Shit,_ Toph, I am so, so sorry!" he spoke in a rush, picking her up from off the floor. "God, I am such an idiot."

"Y-yeah, y-you are," Toph agreed, her teeth chattering as the cold air ripped through her soaked clothing. Sokka immediately tore his coat from his body without a second thought and wrapped his young friend up tightly inside of its warmth.

"Sokka, w-what are you doing? You're gonna g-get sick..."

" _Shhh,_ shut up." he said, taking her hand into his and shutting down her protests. "No more talking until we're home."

* * *

Toph was glad they had gone shopping, since her clothes were now literally dripping wet, Once they returned to their cottage, she quickly changed into a warm pair of pajamas and then coiled her trembling body inside the warm embrace of a fluffy blanket.

"I'll hang your clothes out to dry as soon as it stops raining," Sokka informed her as he climbed into the single bed beside hers. A yawn ripped through his lips right after he presumably closed his mouth.

"Whatever. Go to sleep, Snoozles."

"No, naw if you wan' talk." Another yawn.

"I'm fine, seriously. I'm... really tired too." Toph lied..

Sokka was probably too tired to notice, because he folded at this point. Releasing one final yawn, he murmured, "Mmhmm, g'night, Tophy." He didn't even wait for a response from the young girl before she was able to hear his light snoring begin from beside her.

The day had been long and Toph was tired, but she _didn't_ sleep. Couldn't sleep. These past few days they'd spent in the city had all morphed into one incredibly long hour for her, all because of this nightmare she couldn't _quite_ seem to shake.

In her dreams, she was always blind. No vibrations could be felt from anywhere in particular, and she didn't have what Aang called his _interactive dreams._ She was almost certain that was some stupid Avatar superpower, anyway. He said that in them you could control everything that happened, that you knew that you were dreaming while it happened. What a bunch of baloney!

No, she had never had those, and she doubted their existence at all. Her dreams were just like what happened; she was helpless and without any kind of sight, any kind of aid.

That was why she completely ignored sleeping, because she knew that was when the nightmares would occur. She and Sokka, they had never discussed _,_ never even _mentioned_ what happened after the one night. He thought she was over it, she was sure. That she was okay now.

And she _wanted_ to be okay - more than anything. Toph wanted to sleep, and take baths, and feel a stranger's hand accidentally graze her on the street without flinching, without wanting to scream, without _thinking_ about it...

Sokka thought that she was weak now. And she _was_ \- but she didn't want to be. Not at all. _No more_ , the young girl promised herself, retreating further into her covers. No more cries, no more rests, and no more _tears_. She was strong; she had been her entire life, and year fourteen wasn't going to be any exception just because of one stupid, miniscule event.

So, she stayed up again. She pinched herself every time she yawned and ate food until her stomach was sick. She walked in circles on the smooth tile flooring and splashed cold water onto her face. She did every stupid thing every stupid person would do, just to keep herself going throughout the night.

How long could someone survive without sleep? Once, Sokka asked her how she could tell when she had woken up. She hurled a rock at him in response to his inquiry.

Only the truth was, sometimes she _couldn't_. That was what scared her the most.

* * *

 **Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for how long it took for this chapter! It's felt like years, even though it's only been two weeks!**

 **Just know I will never give up on this story; I have way too many plans for it. And thank you for sticking with me!**

 **What would you like to see happen in this story? Any desires for discussions, or events? I'm always open to suggestion!**

 **As always, thank you for your reviews, favorites, and follows on this story! It means the world to me.**

 **Have a great day.**


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